A Cup Quite Full

My heart is full of PEACE!

2012-01-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

I have so much on my mind, so many BIG changes to come in the very near future for our family. I have never been so at PEACE with a BIG decision as I am right now.

In the last year and a half my life has been FILLED with stress, to the point where the smallest change could send me into a full anxiety attach. I had learned how to cope but I knew coping was not what God wants for us. He wants us to flourish in all of our challenges of life. It is so hard to see that the worldly things that bring us so much stress and discomfort are not the things that matter to God, we put that importance on them.

I have been having a conversation for months with God going something like this; Ok God, if you do this I will do that. Of course, just as it would be when we don't trust God to take care of things nothing in the situation was changing. You ask yourself why won't it change and then a few weeks ago I finally realized it was God telling me to have faith and do this and then He will take care of the rest.

I know there are a lot of hidden information in this post that I can't yet share but let me tell you it is going to be such a different world for us and I can't wait. When you know that you are doing what God is calling you to do it is amazing the PEACE that fills your heart.

I am so blessed by God. My heart is so full!

Harper's Fundraiser

2012-01-11T15:33:00.000-07:00

I have extended the closing date of Harper's fundraiser.

It now closes on the evening of Friday the 13th!! You can shop here.

Let's bless this family big time!!!

2012-01-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

Life is not a race - but indeed a journey.

Be honest. Work hard. Be Choosy.

Say "Thank You", "I Love You", and "Great Job" to someone each day.

Go to church, take time for prayer. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh.

Let your handshake mean more than pen and paper.

Love your life and what you've been given, it is not accidental - search for your purpose and do it as best you can.

Dreaming does matter. It allows you to become that which you aspire to be.

Laugh often.

Appreciate the little things in life and enjoy them.

Some of the best things really are free.

Do not worry, less wrinkles are more becoming.

Forgive, it frees the soul.

Take time for yourself - plan for longevity.

Recognize the special people you've been blessed to know.

Live for today, enjoy the moment.

~ Bonnie L. Mohr

I'm not ready

2012-01-02T19:06:00.001-07:00

...to go back to work. I really thought that 5 days post D&C that I would be ready to head back to work. My Christmas vacation was spent laying around and enjoying my kids which of course I loved so much. Now I am back to work tomorrow and thinking that I still need a couple down days. I am normally a fast healer but this time around I am a little sluggish, guess it is a sign of my age.

Leaving you with a precious pictures of my life's inspiration...

Don't forget about Harper's fundraiser, can't wait until I can see a picture of her with her sisters!

GIVE

2012-01-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

My friend introduced me to having a word for the year last year. I didn't really pick a word for this last year, we had so many things going on, life was really at an overwhelming point. How could I choose just one word.

I have been so excited for 2012. For weeks I have been thinking about all that is in store for our family in 2012 and the word GIVE has been so deeply in my heart. I was thinking about my word for 2012 and I could feel the Lord impressing GIVE in my heart even deeper.

I have been thinking about all the ways we can GIVE to others. Not just in a monetary sense, while that is really important, we can give so much more than all the money we have. I am talking about giving with all of you, walking through the day looking for all the ways that we can give to others, our family, friends, strangers, etc. Seeing that person in the store parking lot that could use some help loading something into their car, they could probable figure out a way to get it done themselves but just imagine how much you could bless them by lending them a hand. Walking into work with your coworker who is carrying a few to many things and grabbing the cup of coffee they have perched on top. Seeing someone on the side of the road who could use a little extra something, a few years ago I drove around with some coats in my car and handed them out to people I saw that could use another layer, time to stock my car again! The mom in McDonalds that has her hands full and could use two more hands as she gets her kiddos bundled up to go.

All these ways of giving may seem so small in our day to day lives and easy to forget but they could also be the best part of someone's day. Just think of all the Jesus has given to us, we may be showing a little Jesus to that person at just the time in their life that they need it.

As a parent I know that my daily actions hold the biggest impact on my kids. I pray that by modeling a giving heart to my kids they will be more giving in their days. My oldest daughter gets citizenship awards at school, "dragon eyes", for doing things that we should really be doing all day every day. She is on a quest for dragon eyes and will come home to tell me how many she earned each day. While I love that the kids are recognized for their actions I want these to be a daily part of our lives without recognition. I have been following a family that did something very similar this during Christmas. It was awesome to see some of the things that they did and how small they may seem but what a huge impact they can have.

What an amazing year 2012 will be! What is on your heart for 2012?

Fundraiser for Harper Skye!

2011-12-31T12:34:00.001-07:00

Introducing the Ost family! I am so blessed to be helping this family fund raise for their beautiful daughter, Harper Skye, who is patiently waiting for them in China.

Look at this sweet little princess with her legs crossed. Now doesn't that just say "Mom and Dad, I am patiently waiting for you, now get that paperwork done and get over here!"

I am holding a Thirty-One Fundraiser for this family from now until January 11th. Click on the link above and you will go directly to their fundraiser and be able to shop from our current catalog. We have our famous thermal tote sale going on right now, if your resolution is to save money, eat healthier lunches or both this sale is just for you!

Do you have a favorite retired print that you would love to find, check out our Outlet Sale and you might find it. Items are marked down 50% and your purchase from the sale also helps Harper come home. Send me an email let me know that you made a purchase to support Harper's fundraiser from the outlet sale.

If your closet is full of gifts you can still help bring Harper home. Check out their blog and see all they have going on and see a precious video of this darling little girl.

Blessings to you and yours in the New Year!

Yipee, Thank You Jesus!!!

2011-12-15T21:57:00.001-07:00

I am so excited, Kalia is almost home. Kalia's family was the first family I partnered with for a Thirty-One fundraiser way back in February. Kalia's wait for her family is nearly over, thank you Jesus!

Read all about it here.

Ready for 2012

2011-12-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

The only time I have wished time away was when we were waiting for our babies to come home from China. However, we are not waiting for a baby (as much as my heart longs for another little boy) but I find myself wishing time away. I am ready for 2012, a new year, a new beginning. I have no idea why the calendar changing to 1-1-12 will make a difference but in my heart I feel that there is great opportunities for our family.

The last year and a half have been hard, really hard emotionally, financially and physically. Hard on me and hard on my family. I am ready to live a simple life; we started cutting back, coupon shopping, searching for things that we can do without. Searching for more ways that we can live on less but have more in a non-material way. I know this doesn't sound like the American Dream but it is my dream. I dream of spending my days with my children and I am looking for ways to make this dream a reality.

Today I made a call to cancel a service that is a luxury that we don't need. As they were offering me great deals to keep me as a paying customer, all the way up to free months of service I was so tempted to accept. But then my heart and my head caught up with each other and I did the right thing, I said no thank you - we need to cancel our service. I have a feeling that I will be challenged in this way again as our standard of living keeps changing, in the right direction!!! but I am ready for it.

While I am very excited for Christmas and spending time with friends and family, boy am I looking forward to the new year and all it has in store for us.

Give me your book recommendations...Please!

2011-12-09T22:52:00.000-07:00

We almost have all the kids presents purchased and ready to wrap (we have impatient little peekers so that won't happen until the last minute) but we are still missing one gift for little Miss S. At first I was going to find some baby doll clothes as she loves her babies but then the other day I realized how much she loves her books, they are the last thing she has at night and the first thing she gets out of bed to get in the morning. I am a book lover myself so this brings me so much joy to know that we share the love of books! I was known in my family to live in our claw foot bathtub when I was in the middle of a good book, draining the water when it was cold and starting over again. Nothing like enjoying a good read and a long soak in the tub!

We have a pretty good sized collection of books to include Dr. Seuss, all characters from PBS kids, The Bernstein Bears and of course a good size collection of adoption themed books. I am looking for some recommendations of books or book sets that would bring such joy to our little Miss S on Christmas morning and that we could add to as the year goes by. She will be three very soon, so keeping that in mind I would love for you to share your recommendations.

Thirty-One Fundraiser for Olga - Updated Giveaway!

2011-11-23T07:00:00.002-07:00

As many of you know my heart breaks daily for the orphans. My friend Kenlyn shared about a precious little girl that is in need of her family a few weeks ago and she has been on my mind since. She posted about Olga and her needs here, take a moment and read about her and she will move right into your heart too.

As Kenlyn's has continued to share about Olga I have been asking myself what can I do. I believe that we can all do something for orphans, we don't have to all be willing to bring the child into our home, it could be as simple as sharing their need for a family or helping a family that has come forward to bring the child home in their fundraising efforts. In my thoughts of what I can do my Thirty-One business came to mind, the reason that I became a Thirty-One Consultant was to help families fundraising. At the point that I was thinking about this Olga didn't have a family that was able to bring her home but she does have a Reese's Rainbow fund so the idea of this fundraiser was born. There is now a family petitioning to bring Olga home however, like so many the funds are not there to pay the immediate fees and they will need our help.

I will be donating all commission (25% of sales) to Olga's Reese's Rainbow adoption fund for all orders placed on my website in November and December. If you would like to place an order you can go to Olga's Fundraiser on my website and place your order.

To thank you for helping Olga I am giving away the hostess benefits for this event. Spend ~~$50~~ $25 your name will be entered into the drawing 1 time. However, the more you spend the more entries you get! Spend $50 you get 3 entries, $75 gets 5 entries and spend $100 and you get 7 entries!!! Now here is what the drawing is for:

1) $25 in FREE Thirty-One (number given away determined by amount of participation)
2) 1/2 price Thirty-One (number given away determined by amount of participation)
3) Opportunity to purchase the Extend-A-Day Tote for $10 ($49 Value)
4) FREE Organizing Utility Tote ($25 Value)
5) Opportunity to purchase a Hostess Exclusive of your choice (number given away determined by amount of participation)

All orders will be placed by Dec 12th in order to allow for Christmas delivery. As soon as we have $600 in orders I will be placing the ordering and opening a new event and a new giveaway! Wouldn't it be great to have your gifts give TWICE, once to your loved ones and again to Olga!!!

Please visit my website at: mythirtyone.com/MandieMetier to view the catalog and place your order, email me at acupquitefull@cableone.net if you have any questions. We have a great array of customer specials: spend $31 get your choice of an All-In-One Organizer, Soft Wallet, Cinch Sac, Zip-Up Pencil Pouch or a Flat Iron Case for $5!

You may have wondered how this fundraiser did, I am very sad to report that there were not any participants. Olga is still not far from my mind, I know the Lord has big plans for her and with the help of Reese's Rainbow her family will get her home.

Kindergarten and Plantar Fasciitis

2011-08-30T20:35:00.000-06:00

M started Kindergarten today! She had a great day and loves school. She is in all day kindergarten in a Mandarin Immersion school. She spends her mornings in a traditional kindergarten class and then in the afternoon she is in a mandarin class. She has wonderful teachers and was so excited when she came home today! We feel so blessed that we have this opportunity for our children to help them learn so much more about their native country. Who would have thought that our school district would be able to offer such a great program with these hard financial times.

I on the other hand did not have as great of a day as I found out I have Plantar Fasciitis. I have had pain in my foot for the past year but it was only there when I woke up. Well a couple weeks ago it began bothering me more throughout the day and by this weekend I could barely walk. I ended up getting into the doctor today and I am happy that I have a diagnosis but I am worried the recovery will be long term from what I am reading. I am on anti-inflamitories and bought myself some nice heal cups. Now I am on the lookout for some Plantar Fasciitis friendly shoes that are somewhat cute as I will be wearing them daily at work. Very worried the cute part won't be as easy to find :( If you have any recommendations for some great shoes I would love to hear them. I believe my much loved Danskos aren't an option as I was wearing them when the pain began.

To everyone who made a purchase from the Thirty-One Fundraiser to help Wills family bring him home, I appreciate your support of their family. We were able to raise over $80!!! While to some that might not seem like a huge figure, to a fundraising family it pays a couple of fees or part of a day in country. When we were fundraising to bring S home I broke our fundraising down into fees to be paid or days in China. If we all band together and help pay a fee or contribute to a day in China (or whichever Country/State the family is adopting from) we really can do so much.

An update on E and S. They are both growing so fast. E is in the 5's class in preschool and is counting the days until he can be a "school ager". It has been so hard on him being in a different school than M. Although they were not in the same preschool classes they were in the same building and spent their outside play time together. We had no idea how attached to her he really is. S has settled right into preschool. She is the cutest student, she is learning her alphabet and her awesome teacher Ms. Kelli is teaching her to sign the alphabet. Any time you start saying ABC's with her she gets her little fingers going in the signs. It is the cutest thing! We are so amazed at how quickly she is absorbing all of this and is now speaking like a little parrot, her brother and sister love teaching her new words.

My Thirty-One team is growing. Since the recruiting freeze has lifted I have five ladies on my team, very excited to see what's in store for my team of Virtuous Dreamers. I am enjoying introducing our beautiful products to our area and all the new ladies I am meeting. I thank the Lord everyday for bringing Thirty-One into my life!

Shopping with a purpose to bring Will home!

2011-08-26T17:26:00.000-06:00

Take a look at this precious little man! I can't wait to see him in his families arms. They have received LOA and it is looking like a very Thankful Thanksgiving for them!

Let's help them raise the funds they need to bring him home and shop with a purpose. Their Thirty-One Fundraiser has been extended through the weekend. Take a look and see what you can find to help organized your family with pretty functional products!

I love being able to help families bring their children home. I am so thankful for the opportunities Thirty-One gives me to fundraise with families. If you are fundraising and looking for new ideas I would love to fundraise with you. Send me an email to acupquitefull@cableone.net.

2011-08-21T20:16:00.000-06:00

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2011/08/21/proverbial-success.html

I love being a part of this, changing women's lives every day! Conference was amazing, the first time I had been to a conference like this. Loved standing together with my Sisters singing praise to our Father. I thank Cindy and Scott for taking the leap of faith and following the call to bring this business to so many women.

If you would like to learn more about this wonderful company, check out my websites mythirtyone.come/MandieMetier.

Be Blessed!

2011-07-04T16:26:00.000-06:00

I know, I know, I'm a bad blogger. I keep promising to post some pictures of the our munchkins and then I get busy again. Here are some cute pictures of the kids from our last couple of camping trips!

They are growing up so fast. It's hard to believe that M will be in kindergarten in a month and half. E is turning into such a little man, he is now in PreK and loves it. S is the star of her class, she has made so many friends and has really come out of her shell. She is starting to talk, we can really understand what she is saying and has turned into a ham.

The start of summer has been really good for me. My Thirty-One business is doing fantastic. Growing my team of Virtuous Women living the Thirty-One Dream! So grateful to Anne for bringing this opportunity to me. I love being able to share it with others and help them realize their own dreams.

Speaking of Thirty-One, with my birthday coming up in a couple days I decided to give some stuff away. Having a mystery hostess shopping event, check out all the details on my newsletter!

Have a fabulous Fourth of July! (Would have posted some cute pictures of my kiddos in their patriotic apparel but I didn't get the camera before they got ahold of snow cones.)

Sale into Summer with Thirty-One

2011-05-09T21:15:00.001-06:00

One day sale!
Tuesday, May 10th starting at 8:01pm EDT Five fabulous products at 31% off. The sale runs until supply is gone, don't wait or you might miss out. No minimum purchase to receive sale prices.

All orders must be placed on my website: mythirtyone.com/MandieMetier. Send me an email at acupquitefull@cableone.net if you have any questions. Have a Thirty-Onederful shopping evening!!!

Exciting Thirty-One News

2011-05-03T22:05:00.001-06:00

When I joined Thirty-One it was right at the beginning of their recruitment freeze. Thirty-One made a big decision and decided to put a hold on future recruitment in February. Due to their huge growth their home office structure was not staffed to support the consultant and customer base as efficiently as they would like. While many companies would continue to focus on growth they decided to slow down and focus on support. That right their made me realize that Thirty-One cares about their customers and consultants. In April we learned that they will open up recruiting in August just as the new catalog is being launched.

I have great news for all of you that are considering a personal Thirty-One business! Starting tomorrow May 4th Thirty-One will open up the official "Ladies in Waiting" list. In order to start your business as soon as recruitment is open you need to be on this list. Send me an email at acupquitefull@cableone.net if you would like more information about getting on the wait list.

Thirty-One has allowed me to continue to do all that I can for families adopting. My Thirty-One business has allowed me to do more to help families adopting as well as for organizations that assist orphan care than ever before. I am very passionate about adoption, orphans and vulnerable children. I am so grateful to Thirty-One for the opportunity it has given me. Check out my website mythirtyone/com/MandieMetier to see which organization or family I have partnered with each month.

Thirty-One Fundraiser for Philip Hayden Foundation

2011-04-30T20:52:00.001-06:00

E spent approximately 15 months living with Philip Hayden before he came home to us. We will be forever grateful for the care that they gave him and how much they prepared him to join his forever family. Philip Hayden is in the process of building a vocational center for children that are not adopted. This facility will help prepare them with life skills they will need as adults. It is my privilege to donate all proceeds from the purchases to Philip Hayden Foundation to go toward the vocational building project.

Orphans in China do not have many opportunities once they age out of the social welfare institute. Most lack education or any skills that help them in their adult lives. Philip Hayden is working to prepare the children in their care that are not adopted for a more successful future. By giving them vocational training they can teach them the much needed life skills for a brighter future.

The fundraiser for Philip Hayden vocational center will run through the month of May. You can look at the thirty-one catalog online and you can place your order here. My goal is to process orders twice through the month, one mid month and again at the end of the month. Remeber 25% of all purchases goes to Philip Hayden. Please email me if you have any questions.

While this picture doesn't have anything to do with the vocational center it shows the heart of the founders of Philip Hayden. The kids at Philip Hayden are their kids, they love them all. This picture was taken just months before E joined his forever family. Thank you to Pam and Tim for all they do for China's Orphans. If you would like to learn more about Philip Hayden Foundation please visit their website. They take in children with Special Needs and Vulnerable Children and give them the love, care and medical attention they need to thrive. Please consider partnering with them and sponsoring a child.

WOW, it has been a while!

2011-04-30T20:13:00.000-06:00

The last few months have zipped by. We have been incredible busy as a family of five. M and E are in gymnastics and we were all in Awana's as cubbies, S as an honoray cubbie and I was a leader. It seems that the weeks have zipped by and I haven't even downloaded the camera in months. I plan to do that very soon as we have S's six month post placement visit coming up on Monday and I need photos for it. It is hard to believe that in a couple weeks, May 22nd to be exact, S will have been with us for six months. So here is an update on what I have missed blogging about!

M starts kindergarten in the fall. She was accepted into the Mandarin Immersion program that we have been praying for. I wasn't quite sure what were going to do for kindergarten if she didn't get in. She is so excited and can't wait to start, she would start today if they would let her. She was very well prepared for kindergarten and does not have a list of items that she needs to work on before the fall, thank you to her preschool and my fabulous teacher sister S!!! She will be moving to the school age program next week at her preschool and she is so ready to be know as school age!

E will be moving to the PreK program very soon. He is doing great with his kindergarten preparation as well, although he has one more year in preschool. I love it when he comes up to me and recites the spelling of his name and his classmates. He is our child with 100 questions a day, he notices things that so many of us miss each day. I love see the world through his eyes. He is a wonderful big brother, he does such a great job looking out for S and helping her with things. You can really see how much he loves her on a daily basis. He is really turning into a little man, even helped the family work cows and nana and papa's last weekend as we prepare the cows for the summer.

S has transformed so much over the last five months. She does not resemble the scared little penguin that she was in China. When we were in China, if we were in the hotel and I wasn't carrying her you would find her right behind me. I had to be careful when I was moving around so as not to run her over. Now she is constantly skipping, jumping, swinging, laughing and just being plain silly. She is anxiously awaiting gymnastics and practices her bar routine on anything that she can hang off of. She still has nearly a year before she can start but I think she will love every minute of it. It is amazing how athletic she is, she has a really good aim when she is throwing things, she even has her own football. She has claimed her place as the youngest child in our family and it is a great fit. She is such a blessing to us and daddy and I can't believe how blessed we are to be her family. We can't thank BAAS enough for all they did to bring us together.

I started selling Thirty-One gifts in February and it is a perfect fit for me. I can't tell you how much I love the company, the women I am meeting involved with Thirty-One and the people who I can be a part of their lives through Thirty-One. Thirty-One is allowing me to contribute to families adoption funds and organizations that help orphans when our financial means would not allow it. It is so rewarding to be able to give back when so many gave to us as we worked to raise money to bring S home. Since starting in February I have been able to partner with three families to raise $513 towards their childrens adoptions and with Henan Kids International to raise $283 towards projects they are working on in Henan China orphanages. It is my goal to continue to have at least on fundraiser going on each month. If you are a fundraising family and are looking for a new fundraiser I would love to partner with you on your fundraiser journey. Send me an email and we can talk about Thirty-One fundraising. While our family may be done growing I am passionate about adoption and would love to help you bring your child home.

I have started on the adventure of coupon shopping. While I know that I will never be an extreme coupon shopper as I don't believe in buying things that my family won't use just because I can get it free. I do want to work harder at be a good steward of our money and hope that I will be able to get things that are needed by organizations in China to send with families traveling for their children. Formula and medication are always in demand so I will be picking those items up when I can. We are also starting a garden to help reduce our produce bill. Our seedlings are doing fantastic and we are working on getting our flower beds turned vegetable garden ready to plant as soon as the weather becomes stable. Who would have thought we would wake up to snow yesterday. It was our plan to put down decorative rock in our flower beds and turn them into low maintenance (weed free if possible) however our finances didn't allow it last year and then our dear dog Tri pulled up the weed fabric, now plans have changed and they are turning into vegetable gardens! I am really excited to see what we can produce to eat fresh during the summer and then can or freeze for the winter.

We have had quite a bit of illness in our family this year. We have had several cases of "fifths disease", bronchitis, sinus infections, stomach viruses and such. E had a febrile seizure, M became dehydrated while batteling a stomach virus coupled with her sinus infection so our local ER has seen our family a bit over the last month. My husband also lost his dear uncle in March, while it was expected, it was still very hard. His uncle was the man in his life as he was growing up and taught him so much. He gave him his start in construction and prepared him to succeed in Construction Management. My husband was able to be with him in the last days and was there with him when he went home to Jesus. While the loss of him has been so hard I am forever grateful that my husband could be by his side with his cousins during those last days. I wish we would have had more time together, when we moved an hour away our time together really became nonexistent. From this we have learned that we have to make the effort to be with our family as often as possible, we won't have forever on earth to spend together. I am very thankful that one day we will be with him again in heaven.

It's not too late....

2011-04-27T19:26:00.001-06:00

to shop with a purpose at thirty-one and help raise funds for the projects Henan Kids International is working on. The fundraiser ends tomorrow night, April 28th.

Spend $31 and get the all-in-one organizer for $9 (half price)!

Bringing Keliah Home!

2011-04-04T20:15:00.000-06:00

My first thirty-one fundraiser was for this precious girl. She and her family are so dear to my heart and I can't wait for them to be together. Check out their fundraiser for and IPAD2, they need to raise more than $6000 to get their dossier to China to start the next stage of their wait. This has been a rough year for many of us and a rough year for them too. They are holding tight to the journey God has sent them on to their beautiful daughter. Not only can you help bring this beautiful girl home but for as little as $10 you can enter to win this fabulous IPAD2, give $25 and get three entries.

Be the hands and feet of Jesus and help bring this girl home!

Fasting for Ethiopia

2011-03-05T15:31:00.000-07:00

Please join Linny at A Place Called Simplicity and all who love the orphans of the world on Wednesday March 9th to fast for Ethiopia and other countries in similar situations. The Orphans are counting on us to care for them.

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

and break every yoke?"

Isaiah 58:6 NIV

Linny posted the scripture above on her blog, she always knows the perfect scripture for the situation. Thanks Linny for rallying us all together for the orphans.

Wrapping up thirty-one for Keliah

2011-02-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

Final days to place your thirty-one order to help Keliah's family bring her home.

You can place your order at mythirtyone.

Orders will be placed on Wednesday the 23rd and will be delivered in 2 to 3 weeks. Take advantage of the February special, for every $31 you spend...you'll get 31% off ANY item! You will need to enter your full price items first and then enter in your 31% off item. Send me an email if you have any questions.

Fundraisers for Keliah

2011-02-15T18:51:00.001-07:00

You have to check out Keliah's families blog. It is amazing to see people come together to bring an child into their forever family. They posted yesterday that the are now at $365 needed to send their paperwork to USCIS from $890 needed last week! For those that are not schooled in the world of international adoption, the USCIS step is the last step needed before they can turn their completed dossier into China so they can begin the wait to get their Letter Seeking Confirmation or LOA.

There is a little over one week left to place your order for Keliah's thirty-one fundraiser. You can check out the catalog here. So far your orders have raised $55 for Keliah's family to help with adoption expenses. All commission from sales are being donated to Keliah's adoption fund. Get yourself some adorable thirty-one products and help bring Keliah home. Be sure and place your order by February 23rd!

Keliah's family also has two other fundraisers going on right now, Matilda Jane gift card giveaway and a gorgeous ABCDinc Headband. Together, we can help them bring Keliah home.

thirty-one Launch Party for Keliah

2011-02-10T21:36:00.002-07:00

The reason I became a thirty-one consultant was to help families who are fundraising to bring their children home. We were blessed with many folks that helped us bring S home and we feel that we should be doing all we can to help other families and waiting children. To start off my thirty-one fundraising I have asked a wonderful family if we can do a party for them. Mandi does so much for so many in the adoption community and I am so excited that we can step up and help them bring Keliah home.

Keliah is 9 years old and is waiting for her family in China. She has spent so many years waiting for a forever family and this family is ready to be her forever. The only thing standing in their way is the fees that need paid. To start the journey they need to raise the funds for the USCIS immigration approval in order to submit their paperwork to China.

I am holding my first party for this little girl and her forever family. You can shop with a purpose at Bringing Keliah Home starting today and ending at midnight on February 23rd. Orders will be placed on February 24th and will be shipped directly to you in approximately two weeks. All commission from sales go Keliah's family to bring her home.

For the month of February thirty-one has a great sale going on. For every $31 product purchase you receive one item for half price. If you spend $62 in product you get two items at half price. To redeem the special 31% discount, enter $31 or more in retail purchases and then enter the customer's selected sale product with the item # followed by "S." For example, enter #3000S for the Thermal Tote when the customer selects that item as her 31% off product. Personalization is not included in the discount. Shipping and tax is calculated on the discounted price for the sale item.

Hop on over to Keliah's party and help her family bring her home!

Help bring Keliah home

2011-02-10T21:34:00.000-07:00

Help bring Keliah home. Her family is doing a Matilda Jane Fundraiser. Check it out and help bring this precious little girl home.

The Waiting Child

2011-02-07T19:43:00.001-07:00

The Waiting Child by Debbie BodieI saw you meet your child today
You kissed your baby joyfully
And as you walked away with her
I played pretend you'd chosen me.

I'm happy for the baby, yet
Inside I'm aching miserably
I want to plead as you go by
"Does no one want a child of three?"

I saw you meet your child today
In love with her before you met
And as I watched you take her out
I knew it wasn't my turn yet.

I recognize you from last year!
I knew I'd see your face before!
But you came for a second babe.
Does no one want a child of four?

I saw you meet your child today
But this time there was something new
A nurse came in and took MY hand
And then she gave my hand to you.

Can this be true? I'm almost six!
And there are infants here you see?
And then you kissed me and I knew
The child you chose this time was me.

This is a repost from Kenlyn, who is on her way to her beautiful little girl Scarlett tomorrow!

Selling The Girl Next Door

2011-02-06T18:43:00.000-07:00

While many in the nation are watching the Sup@r Bowl right now my husband was watching this documentary Selling The Girl Next Door on CNN. At one point he told me he just wanted to stop watching it because it was making his heart hurt. My response is, it should make your heart hurt, human/sex trafficking is horrible and has to be stopped. It's time to start putting these documentaries all over the place.

If you have followed my blog you know that I joined a class at our church a year and a half ago, Women and Children in Crisis. In this class we learned about human injustice in all forms and it set my heart on fire for the orphan. I have always had a heart for the orphan but I failed to get how there is no one to protect the orphan. If someone doesn't stand up and protect them, who makes sure that they aren't trafficked. In my class we all found our purpose, mine for the orphan, others for street children, for human trafficking, child soldiers, genital mutilation, the list of injustices go on.

My heart is broken for the orphan and for human injustice. Human trafficking is happening everywhere, not just overseas. I encourage you to watch this documentary and let it break your heart. If it is breaking our heart what is it doing to Jesus' heart. We need to stand up for those that can not protect themselves. Bring justice to the oppressed.

Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:16b-17

Thirty-One

2011-02-06T12:05:00.002-07:00

I am excited to share that I have signed up to be a Thirty-One consultant. I have been thinking about ways that I can help families fundraising just like others helped me. There are many direct-sell opportunities out there but I was looking for something that the market was not saturated with and was more to my personality. After much thought and prayer I have concluded that Thirty-One was the best fit for me and my family. It is relatively untouched in my state, they do not require that you carry an inventory, and most importantly it is faith based.

If you are fundraising for adoption I would love to help you with your fundraising. We had several people who donated their profits or a portion of their profits to our family during our adoption fundraising. I will donate my commission to your adoption fundraising and can earn hostess gifts for future fundraising or for yourself. Depending on your location we can do a Catalog Party if you are not local to me or a Thirty-One Home Party with products displayed at your home or chosen location. Check out My Thirty-One site or send me an email and we can set something up.

The Lord drew me to Thirty-One and my family is excited about the help that we can give others through this opportunity.

2011-02-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

This past week, like the others before it, went by lightning fast. We are officially a very busy family of five. S wasn't feeling well last weekend and Monday so I stayed home with her. We got her into the doctor and she went back on antibiotics as they think we didn't get her last round of illness killed off with the previous antibiotics. I felt like such an over reacting mom hauling her back in, they weren't nearly as concerned with her cough as I was instead focusing on the yuck in her eyes and nose. Happy to say that she is back to normal a week later.

Wednesday was Magnet School information night. We are praying that M will get to start kindergarten in a Language and Culture magnet school, their language is Mandarin. If she gets in she will be in all day kindergarten where the morning is spent doing regular kindergarten activities and the afternoon is spent in Mandarin. She will learn to speak and write in Chinese Character, numbers 1-100 and an additional 400 words in kindergarten alone. She is really excited about it and was ready to start that day. While many families are still touring magnet schools trying to decide which is best for their child we have only ever wanted our kiddos to attend this school. Praying we get good news in April!

Thursday night was gymnastics for M and E. S really wants to start but she has another year to wait. Every time someone would not latch the gym door completely S was right there to run out into the gym. I would have to go after her and break her heart as I brought her back to the viewing area. She loves doing everything that her big brother and sister do.

Saturday night was our first Chinese New Year celebration with the local Chinese Christian Church. Good food, great entertainment and fun for the whole family. The kids in the church put together the cutest songs and dances. Their choir was amazing and then their was a wonderful guest singer/speaker. Our kids had such a great time dancing to the singing, M didn't even realize people where watching her as she danced up a storm. We ended the evening renting a movie and snuggling on the couch. S passed out as soon as the movie started she was so worn out from the celebration.

Sunday was S's dedication at church. In our church, once a month all the families that wish to have their children dedicated stand at the front of the church with friends, family and the church staff to dedicate the children, mostly new babies. We had some wonderful friends join us in prayer and our pastor's wife joined us and spoke the most amazing praise. She had not met S before that moment and praised the Lord for healing hearts. Had she met S before I would not have been surprised because we see how much more secure she is and those that see her on occasion have made the same comment that she is blooming before our eyes. But for her to know that hearts were being healed just amazed me.

Sunday didn't end as well for daddy and I. We had to make the painful decision to allow our old dog Dru pass on. She had cancer and was doing horrible, in so much pain. As soon as we got our kiddos settled in for the night I took her into our all night vet hospital. I met with the most amazing young vet that looked at her without charging us another office fee. She knew how hard this decision was on us and assured us that her quality of life was not there anymore and that surgery would be incredibly hard on her if she were to make it through. This was the second dog that we have lost in the last year. When Aspen passed away it was so hard on M and she was so upset when daddy had to take him to the doctor and we didn't let her go. This time we knew that we needed to go when the kids were asleep and then talk to them about it afterwards. M was the most upset, crying for a very long time. These two dogs were the dogs she came home to, they were her first best friends. She knows that Dru was not feeling well but her heart just misses her so much.

This week is another busy week with another CNY celebration on Saturday. I will post pictures of the kiddos all dressed up after our last celebration.

Have a great week!

Congee Challenge

2011-01-24T17:25:00.000-07:00

Check out this blog this sweet little girl is doing what she can to help others. She is currently working on a congee challenge to help a family that is adopting from China, not her family but another family, gotta love her heart as I'm sure Jesus does too. She is working so hard to raise $200 by Jan 27th and if she raises $400 her dad is jumping in on the congee challenge.

Our baby S was receiving two things for nurishment in China consistently, formula and congee. Once she started eating all the different foods available to her off our plates congee was dropped quickly. Imagine eating congee day in and day out every day of the year. Sharaya is willing to try it for three days, not many 12 year olds in the US would be willing to do this, think of the 12 year olds in China that have no other food choices.

Jump on over to Sharaya's blog and make a donation.

Good Week!

2011-01-22T21:50:00.000-07:00

We made it through the week fairly well. For the most part the transition to preschool went well for S, M and E jumped back into it all great too!

S woke up this morning with a little fever but otherwise seemed ok. She accompanied me to Women and Children in Crisis where I taught about the orphan crisis. The big kids went with daddy to McD's for a daddy breakfast and some fun time in the play area. What they really wanted to do was hit the library at 7:30 this morning as soon as they woke up. We finally convinced them that the library didn't open until noon and we would be there when it opened, next on their list of things to do this morning was breakfast with daddy.

Teaching on orphans went really well. I hope that some of the students will be moved to care for the orphans in whatever way the Lord leads them. I am excited to hear how Jesus works in the hearts of this class.

This evening S has started really not feeling well. Her eyes and nose are running non stop and she is drooling a lot. I hope she doesn't have strep. She ate like a champ tonight but it was all baby food, not table food. She just declined her bottle which she is only getting in the evening so I know she is feeling horrible. I'm sure she was exposed to some new germs this past week at school. As much as we are out and about she has had a limited exposure to other kids over the last month and a half.

Today also marked the two month family anniversary for S. It is so hard to believe that she has been a part of our family for only two months. She has blended into our family so easily that it is hard to remember that she hasn't always been with us. We all love you so very much S. You sister and brother love to you help you and keep you safe. Mommy and Daddy will always be here for you.

2011-01-17T12:44:00.000-07:00

All is well with the kiddos at preschool. M saw her teacher and took off as soon as we were in the door. I didn't even get to walk her to her classroom. E was happy to be there but we had to follow our tradition of whining so mommy won't leave. Once I stepped out of his classroom he was back to normal and it was as if we hadn't left in October.

All of the two's were in class together having snack and doing flashcards. Normally they are divided in half with younger two's in one room and older in another but they were having dance class in S's class. It was nice to go in and sit for a while with my niece T helping S transition into her class. We then went outside to play for a bit and came back in for art time. She was doing so well that I walked down the hall for 15 minutes. She didn't even notice I was gone. I decided I would leave her for an hour and run home do to another load of laundry.

I got back to school right after lunch as S's class was laying down for naps and E's class was heading outside to play. Everyone was doing great and S was sitting on her cott just like the rest of the class. Her teacher said that she hadn't cried once, she did want to be held quite a bit but Miss S loves to snuggle so that wasn't a problem. All of my kids have had Miss S and fall in love with her. For a while E was going to marry her!

I picked up S to come home with mommy for a nap. Pretty certain she would have had no problem at all staying in her class for nap time but mommy needed just one more nap with her little one. The bigs were so glad to be back at school but S doesn't know that she can stay all day! Mommy needed just one more day. My babies are all growing up on me.

Happy Birthday to M!

2011-01-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

M is five! It's hard to believe that my first baby is five and will be heading to kindergarten next August. M believes in the birthday week I have learned so every day is her birthday starting on Thursday evening (her birthday was Friday) and heading on into Sunday at least. We had a family dinner on Friday and will have a little get together with our extended family and a friend tomorrow.

Many changes coming to our house this next week. Daddy starts a new job on Monday and the kiddos head back to their preschool. M and E had been staying with my sister S for the last couple of months. S is now working outside the home so all the kiddos will be going to M and E's old preschool. We left the preschool because of the awesome opportunity to have them spend the days with their aunt and cousin so we are happy to return and so grateful that they have room for us. It is a great school and M had gone to it since she started their infant care at 11 months old. All of the kiddos have been staying home with daddy or mommy since I returned from China (isn't the picture of daddy and S so precious, he loves their snuggle time). This is going to be a huge change for our little S as she hasn't stayed away from us since we were united. Praying that she makes the transition well, she has come so far in nearly two months. She has turned into such a confident little girl.

Feeling Yuck

2011-01-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend, Saturday was spent laying around the house with the kids playing and watching movies. Very relaxing.

On Sunday we were off to church. The two big kids went to their class and S joined mommy and daddy. She does great in church, sits fairly quiet and plays with whatever she can find. She has fallen asleep both times during service. When M was little going to church didn't work out. She screamed and fussed the entire time and still wasn't happy in the cry room. She had a lot of seperation anxiety so we couldn't take her to nursery either. She really didn't do well in church until E came home. Now she loves her class and going to Awana's.

After church the kids got invited to join their cousin S at the local children's science museum. The kids and I headed to the museum for a couple hours of play. M and E love the museum so we decided to get a family pass this year and amazing it only cost $45 for the entire year. S and M had a great time playing in the grocery store. E is really into the science and robot stuff. He hung out with S and Uncle JS doing the guy science stuff. M also had a great time playing in the Vet Center. It was a great afternoon and I can't wait for them to spend many more days playing there. Unfortunately, as is the case a lot these days, I forgot my camera.

I woke up on Monday morning feeling horrible. I had a little cold when I left for China and it hung on while I was there. I didn't get my customary upper respiratory infection while in GZ for two weeks so I really say it was a healthy trip in spite of the cold. When we got home I still had a bit of a cough and it went away but then my sinus congestion came back last week. Yesterday when I woke up I had horrible pain in my back and taking a deep breath was very painful. Daddy took the kids to gymnastics and I called work to let them know I wouldn't be in and layed back down. By the time my family returned I was feeling worse so decided I better get myself to the doctor. Turns out I have bronchitis and an ear infection. Taking one more day to get some rest and then back to work for mommy.

Thankfully, my family is well and doing great.

Bible reading is great, so far I am keeping up with it. I absolutely love You Version, it really keeps me going.

Boss Your Heart, Bible Reading Challenge

2011-01-01T12:11:00.000-07:00

I am a follower of a beautifully written blog All Are Precious In His Sight and Lorraine has a wonderful challenge for us all this year. It's a Bible reading challenge for 2011. Check out Lorraine's post and take a look at all the different reading plans available on You Version.

Take this next year to spend more time getting to know God. I've picked my reading plan, have you?

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T12:01:00.000-07:00

Lord, move me into powerful ministry that will impact the lives of others for Your kingdom and Your glory. I humble myself under Your might hand. O God, Knowing that You will lift me up in due time, I reach out for Your hand today so I can walk with You into the future You have for me.

This devotion really spoke to me, it was my devotion for Thursday and I knew the Lord was speaking to me about this next year. This past year has been filled with many trials and huge blessings. Being Christian doesn't mean that life is going to be perfect, that everyday will be easy. If anything it may bring more pain because you SEE the injustice of the world without rose colored glasses. I SEE the Orphan Crisis. I have now been to China three times to bring three beautiful treasures home and every time my heart is broken more.

What more can I do? That is a question that I ask myself every day. I know that the Lord has put Orphans deeply in my heart and each day this question is the first thing that comes to my mind when I wake and the last thing on my mind when I fall asleep. It is part of my daily time with Jesus.

As humans we make resolutions to lose weight, get debt free, simplify, earn more money, work towards better health and the list goes on. While these are are great resolutions and all things that I would like to spend time working towards, they are not my resolution.

My resolution for 2011 is to spend more time with Jesus personally and with my family. That we will all spend time daily thinking of the Orphans and working towards Orphans No More. What that will look like for our family I am not sure but I know if we listen we will find out.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T19:28:00.001-07:00

I am a terrible blogger. Unfortunately, being a better blogger isn't going to be my resolution.

So December has flown by, we will have been home for a full month come Monday. What have we been doing this past month. Well, I can't say that we have been super busy. We have spent a lot of time together as a family of five.

On December 11th we took our kids on a train ride to the North Pole. We have done it every year since M has been home. You get to take an hour ride on a vintage train to the North Pole and see Santa. Then you ride the train back to the depot. The kids love it!

On December 14th E had his tonsils and adenoids removed. He had a hard time with the recovery, especially at night. We are now just a little over two weeks since surgery and he is healed and waiting for the ok to eat popcorn again!

We spent Christmas at home, just the five of us. While it was different than normal for us it was nice to have some down time together after the last two months. We spent Christmas day laying around the house, kids playing with their new toys and mom and dad watching the Hallmark Channel.

I returned to work part time on December 22nd and daddy is staying home with the kids for now. S has adjusted very well to her new home and family. While she still prefers to be with mommy she can be daddy's girl when I am at work.

New Years Eve is a great deal like Christmas, the five of us laying around doing puzzles, reading books and watching the Disney Channel.

Wishing you all a Happy and Blessed New Years!

So Powerful

2010-12-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

Pause the music at the bottom of the page to watch this. It is so powerful. There is always more we can do. What is Jesus putting in your heart?

Starfish Calendars!

2010-12-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

These adorable calendars are available to purchase. All proceeds benefit the kids at the Starfish foster home in China. Check out More Kids 4 Me for all the information on how you can order your calendar. Anne also has a link to the full calendar.

I can't wait for our calendar to arrive and hang in our special China calendar place in our hallway.

Help Bring Michael Home

2010-11-16T18:11:00.002-07:00

If a Kindle is on your wish list you really need to check out BECAUSE WE ARE LED. Not only can you enter to win a Kindle but you will also be helping bring Michael home from China.

We have CA too!

2010-11-03T20:02:00.001-06:00

I didn't think it would take 48 to 72 hours to find out and sure enough I got word first thing this morning that our CA is Nov. 29th. Sophia will be in my arms on Nov. 22nd and we will be home around Dec. 2nd.

As long as the wait seems now things are speeding by. So many things that need to get done. I just happened to call the bank today to make sure that they ordered our money and I am so glad I did. The message didn't get passed on to the person that orders money but thank the Lord she was a wonderful nice person and said she would order it today to have next week. She was such a sweet person and was so excited to be helping us.

Now to get our house organized, the girls room reorganized, bags packed, house cleaned, etc. I am going to sleep the entire flight to China after all this!

WE HAVE TA!!!!!

2010-11-02T20:32:00.000-06:00

Our agency received our Travel Authority letter today and sent in our request for our Consulate Appointment, in the China adoption world this is known as our TA and CA. We are expecting that I will be leaving around November 18th and would meet Sophia on November 22nd. This is all tentative at this point as our travel and meeting day are all centered around our CA. We will find out in the next couple of days our exact CA and will begin to make our travel arrangements and get our bags packed.

Roughly we are about $4000 away from the funds needed for travel. We really appreciate all who have donated, purchased and are praying for us. Please help us continue to spread the word about our hoodies, tees, caps and of course the puzzle fundraiser. Check them out at Bringing Sophia Home.

Too busy!

2010-10-28T20:38:00.000-06:00

So E has sounded like he has allergies for about 6 weeks. We have tried every allergy medicine available over the counter and nothing was helping. Earlier this week he told me that his ear was stuffy. Well, that shouldn't happen since he has tubes in his ears. He had a follow up appointment set for December with his ENT so I called to see if they should see him earlier to check out his stuffy ears and to see about different allergy meds. As I was talking to the nurse she noticed he still had his adenoids so she scheduled him to come in and get his adenoids looked at today.

We get there and it is very apparent to everyone who sees him that he can't breath. The doctor starts checking him out, ears look good, nose is completely dry. She has him open his mouth and then tells me to come and take a look. My poor little man has a very small opening in his throat, his tonsils are now touching. They have grown HUGE and they aren't infected or inflamed.

E has now been scheduled for a tonsilectomy. The next opening they have was for Nov 23rd, I will probable be in China around that time or leaving very soon there after. So they decided that we should probable wait until December. He is scheduled for Dec 14th that is if our TA can get here and I can get back in time.

Praying our TA gets here quick. This little man will need his mama for his recovery. I tell you when I get busy I get busy. This is reminding me of daddy's back surgery and E have urological issues all at the same time. Praying this all slows down, it's too hard for me to be at two doctors at the same time. Lots of prayers please!!

It was a great day!

2010-10-23T20:47:00.001-06:00

We started the day with our final soccer game. E didn't spend a lot of time playing, more time crying but he stuck it out until the end of the season. Daddy was a wonderful coach. He did such a great job encouraging all the kids. The funniest moment of the game is when daddy headbutted the ball without trying. Everyone thought it was fun.

We left the game and headed to get our pumpkin for a pumpkin carving party in the afternoon. We went to M's best friend M's house and the kids had a great time. These two have been best friends since the day they met at daycare. Neither of them go got preschool together anymore but they are still the best of friends. They had so much fun carving pumpkins, riding bikes, playing in the yard and then the highlight for M, M and E was light saber fighting with daddy.

They had a hard time leaving M and can't wait to get together to play again. We headed for a dinner just the four of us at On the B*rder and then headed home to snuggle with mom and dad to watch Marmaduke.

Sitting eating dinner I realized that at about that time 4 years ago we were heading to a banquet room in the Golden Resource Hotel in Chongqing China to meet M. M's forever family day is October 24th, so pretty much the same as the evening of our anniversary. Our lives changed forever 4 years ago when we became a family of three.

The weekends we have left as a family of four are counting down. Next weekend we will be at Nana and Papa's house for a bonfire on Friday and some fence fixing on Saturday. More fun family memories to be made. After next weekend we will all be getting our house ready for mommy to be gone for a couple weeks, packing and doing last minute shopping. We are getting so excited to bring Sophia home and start making memories with her.

What a great Anniversary of our marriage and of the beginning of parenthood we had today!

2010-10-23T07:47:00.000-06:00

HAPPY 17TH ANNIVERSARY

TO MY HUSBAND

While we don't have a weekend planned just the two of us,

we will be enjoying the time we have to spend together as a family.

Making memories and having fun.

What could be better!

17th Anniversary Puzzle Blitz

2010-10-21T12:57:00.000-06:00

Check it out at Bringing Sophia Home.

The Puzzle has arrived!

2010-10-20T16:36:00.000-06:00

The 110 piece puzzle has arrived. It's time to spread it out on the kitchen table and see our puzzle of little Sophia. We have 19 pieces of the puzzle sponsored. Please prayerfully consider sponsoring a piece for our little girl. You can check out our puzzle fundraiser and give away at Bringing Sophia Home.

2010-10-17T20:42:00.000-06:00

This weekend was suppose to be a internet free weekend but with all that is going on over at My Cup Overfloweth I had to spend a little time on the internet. But compared to most weekends I did very well at my steps to internet/blog recovery program!

We did a lot of snuggling, movie watching and nest making. At the time of the pictures M and E were watching Dinosaur Train. Maybe they thought they were baby dinosaurs. We watched the new Karate Kid four times this weekend before it went back to Red B-x and we also watched Furry Vengeance twice. Have to say E and mom like Karate Kid the best. Don't know if it seeing China again or if it is Jackie Chan but this is one that we will be buying.
I hope you all had a blessed and relaxing weekend. Now on to another busy week for mom and dad and great days with S for M and E. Gymnastics starts tomorrow!

Lovin S!

2010-10-15T11:29:00.000-06:00

So we have been going through lots of changes lately. Some of them have been done because of our pending arrival as we prepare for little sister to arrive home. One of the major changes is that M and E are now staying with my sister S and her daughter T during the days instead of going to preschool.

S is definitely more qualified to be with my kiddos all day as she was a preschool teacher before they moved. My kids are loving their days with her. We can't believe the change in their attitudes at the end of the day. But the biggest change is in the mornings. M is not a morning person, she would not help get herself dress and usually cried. Now she wakes herself up, helps get dressed and tells me to hurry up as she has a busy day today!

E is a morning person however he hated being seperated from me each morning and would get very clingy and cry. Most mornings he would be upset because it takes too long for me to get home from work.

Well this morning as we are heading out the door E asked where we were going and I told him to S and T's house. He asked if I was going to work and when I said yes he said will it take too long. Unfortunately, or so I thought, I had to say yes. His response was, "Yeah! I love S's house!" Then when I drop the kiddos off M tells me I need to leave, that I am going to be late for work.

All I can say is we are blessed beyond belief. I had no idea how hard preschool was on my kids until they are no longer going. They really needed more one on one and more love from family. It is so nice to have fun loving kids again at night too. Thanks so much S for doing this for us. You are loved beyond measure!

Netbook giveaway

2010-10-12T22:09:00.000-06:00

Check out our fundraiser at Bringing Sophia Home. Please help us spread the word as we have a month to raise $5000. While it is a large amount, God's economy is limitless.

New Fundraiser coming soon!

2010-10-11T21:39:00.000-06:00

A fabulous new fundraiser is coming very soon, before the end of the week. This one is going to be a BIG one, you won't want to miss it.

We have about one month left until I depart for China to pick up our sweet Sophia. We still need to raise $5000 to pay the final fees in country.

Can't wait to show you what's next! Keep checking Bringing Sophia Home.

Care Package and Update

2010-10-09T09:51:00.000-06:00

We sent little Miss a care package through Red Thread China. When I contacted Ann it was right during the National Holiday and pretty much everyone was on Holiday for a week. Ann was so wonderful and responsive and emailed me right back explaining that the holiday would slow down getting an update but she would contact the SWI on October 8th as soon as everyone was done with the holiday. It was so wonderful and really a surprise to wake up today to an update and new pictures.

Sophia is 19 months and weighs right at 20 lbs. She is on the tiny side but she looks so healthy. We are so grateful for the wonderful care she is getting.

Looks like she has the karate moves going on! She will fit in with our wild crew just fine!

We are currently waiting on our Article 5 to be complete and will be picked up by our agency next week. I'm not exactly sure what an Art 5 is but once it is picked up it will be sent to the CCAA who will then issue our TA. The wait for TA from Art 5 looks to be about 2 to 3 weeks so hoping for TA by the end of October and then our agency can request our Consulate Appointment. Once we know when our CA is then we can work out our tickets and reservations.

We are so close to you baby girl, we can't wait to have you home.

WE ARE A HIP MOM FAMILY!

2010-09-30T19:20:00.002-06:00

We have been chosen by Hip Mom Jewelry to be one of her fundraising families for October. The fundraiser for our family runs from October 1st through October 31st for items that are purchased from the Adoption tab on her blog. You will need to use our family code of Metier010 when you check out.

I do have a favorite in the Hip Mom line up. This is it, the Infinite Circle. I don't personally own one but I have bought one for a special mom as a gift. I have to say it is a very beautiful piece of jewelry that any mom would be happy to wear next to her heart. If there is a special mom in your life or if you yourself want to wear your children close to your heart I highly recommend this piece. Maybe next year I will be able to order one with my birthday money, this year Sophia will be my gift!

Please hope on over to Hip Mom Jewelry and take a look at all she has available and help us bring our baby girl home. She has some beautiful pieces that represent adoption, Africa, China, and some that aren't adoption related but reflect our hearts. We are so grateful to Hip Mom Jewlry for choosing us as a fundraising family and for all she is doing to help children join their forever families.

Ugh.....Dishwashers

2010-09-27T20:33:00.001-06:00

Right now retailers are not my friend. Why is that they only keep in stock the expensive models? The ones that you can't afford when your dishwasher bites the dust and starts leaking on your floor.

Our dishwasher has bit the dust, granted it is 11 years old so I'm sure it has out lived a dishwashers life expectancy. It just had to die at a very rough time to shell out money on a new dishwasher. I had dreams of one day buying some higher end appliances to help with resale of our house, but that was planned for a few years down the road, not right in the middle of working out the funds to bring Sophia home. So we headed out Saturday after soccer to find a dishwasher. We found one that is not an upgrade by any means but it will wash dishes and that is most important. We were really needing one this weekend because of the hours that daddy works during the week. We were praying it would be in stock but lo and behold the only ones in stock are those that run in the $700+ range. So we had to order the $350 dishwasher, in the mean time daddy pulled the old one out and disconnected everything so as soon as the new one gets here he can install it. Unfortunately, the drain connection for the dishwasher is uncovered and it decides on occasion to spew water underneath the cabinet. So washing dishes leads to pulling everything out of the cabinet to mop up the water.

Regardless of all of this I am thankful we realized the issue with our dishwasher as soon as we did. When it was pulled out we saw that it had started to leak water underneath it. Who knows how long until it would have started to travel underneath the kitchen floor.

Now for some wonderful weekend news. E played soccer!!!! He actually played in the game. We were so proud of him and he had a really good time. When he decides to do it he is a great little soccer player. M decided to be the photo journalist for the game. She had a great time snapping photos. Each of the kids wanted to take a picture with the mom.

2010-09-25T09:08:00.000-06:00

Yesterday the kiddos and I hung around the house waiting on service people to take care of some odds and ends. Had planned on going to work in the afternoon but things took longer than anticipated. Unfortunately, it looks like we need a new dishwasher, it is 11 years old so probable not surprising that it has bitten the dust but not a good time to need to make the purchase and it is not something we can be without with daddy holding down the fort while I'm in China with the very long work days he has.

We were invited by a friend to attend her Chinese Chrisitan Churches Mid Autumn Moon celebration. We are so happy we were invited and the kids couldn't wait to leave. Immediately after naps they were asking if it was time to leave. We had such a great time and the food was wonderful. M ate until her stomach hurt and E had a great time playing with the kids. They were so welcoming to our family and it was fun to listen to them sing worship songs in Chinese. There was a little girl there that reminded me of Sophia, she was 11 months old and it really made me miss my little Sophia all the more. Of course, the one time I remember my camera the battery is dead. Can't wait for their Spring celebration.

We've been CABLED!!!!

2010-09-24T13:13:00.001-06:00

Another small step complete today. I had given up hope of being dropped off at the Guangzhou Consulate on Monday for our Article 5. There are so many new steps to the China adoption process, some of them I don't even understand.

So this is what we have been up to since our LOA on August 26th. We sent our I800 application to USCIS on August 27th, they will review Sophia's file and deem that she qualifies as an orphan according to the Hague Treaty. It arrived in Texas on August 30th and the approval was granted on September 15th. From there our approval was sent from what is called the National Benefit Center (USCIS) to the National Visa Center (Dept. of State), it was entered into their system and we were given a GUZ number and then our information was cabled on September 24th (today) to the Guangzhou Consulate. Luckily we received a PDF copy of our approval and we have forwarded it to our China Coordinator. The facilitator in China should be dropping it off at the Consulate on Monday, they only allow drop offs or pick ups from agencies two days a week, Monday and Thursday.

I truely do not understand all of these new steps, personally it seems like a lot of people touching the same file over and over again. I am all about one touch handling but our gov't hasn't asked my how to simplify it so I will keep my suggestions to myself! I had given up hope of being dropped off on Monday last night when I was told that we hadn't been scheduled for cabling yet. I don't think in the grand scheme of things that it will make that much of a difference because of Columbus Day but it at least makes me feel like we are moving. I am predicting our TA about the end of October and travel mid to late November.

We are getting closer Sophia!

All About Him

2010-09-22T15:42:00.000-06:00

All about Him

When it's all about Him and not about me- I can live on little and give much.

When it's all about Him and not about me- I can adopt many and love more.

When it's all about Him and not about me- I can care less about pleasing others and care much about pleasing Him.

When it's all about Him and not about me- I can love without expecting to be loved back.

When it's all about Him and not about me- I can open my home and my heart regardless of our differences.

When it's all about Him and not about me- I can let go of my plans- knowing His are always better.

When it's all about Him and not about me- I care less about how my hair looks and care lots about how my heart looks.

When it's all about Him and not about me- I can have peace during the unknowns- trusting He does know.

When it's all about Him and not about me- I worry less about the risk and more about just surrendering.

When it's all about Him and not about me- I allow myself to be vulnerable, knowing my experiences can help someone else.

When it's all about Him and not about me- I can be content in my circumstances knowing He allowed them to be.

When it's all about Him and not about me- I can be assured success- regardless of the outcome.

He must become greater; I must become less. John 3:30

Isn't this just wonderful. Something to really think about. I have borrowed this (with permission) from another blog. Check out Building the Blocks, it will move you and make you think about things.

Final night to order a Pure Religion tee

2010-09-19T17:46:00.000-06:00

This is it, your final night to order a Pure Religion shirt and help us get baby Sophia home. Order will be placed with the printer tomorrow. Check them out at Bringing Sophia Home. Please feel free to share the word with your friends and family. We appreciate all of the help and support we received in bringing our baby girl home.

The last weekend of the tee pre-sale

2010-09-17T21:29:00.001-06:00

Time is running out to order your Pure Religion tee. We are a long way from our goal of 50 tees, we would really appreciate your support! You can place your order at Bringing Sophia Home.

We will be taking off bright and early tomorrow for soccer and then immediately leave for a family reunion. It is really a very busy weekend, as most of them have been lately. I am preparing maternity, baby, and childrens items for a consignment sale, it's amazing, I have 20 maternity items for the sale and I've never been pregnant. I really appreciate everyone who has donated items to us for the yard sale and such, without your support we wouldn't be able to raise the needed funds to bring our little one home. The last drop off day is Sunday afternoon so I had better get busy tonight! If all goes well we might be able to make another couple hundred for the Sophia fund.

Our I800 has been approved

2010-09-16T15:48:00.000-06:00

I received an email today from our NBC Officer stating he approved our I800 application yesterday and has sent off the notification to the National Visa Center. Once it is entered into their system which seems to be taking one to two weeks then we will be about to submit for our Article 5. There are so many new steps to the this process and I honestly do not know what they all mean but I am so glad when one more gets checked off the list!

Now we can skip our way into Costco and then get the kids some much needed haircuts. Maybe we will have to stop by our favorite Chinese restaurant to pick up some take out on the way home.

We are getting closer to our baby girl. We love you so very much Sophia!

I800 is on our officers desk

2010-09-15T19:08:00.000-06:00

I called today and found out that our I800 was given to our officer today. Praying for his stamp of approval by the end of the week. If all goes well I think we will be traveling very late November to early December. I just want out little cherub home for Christmas.

Four more days left on the t-shirt sale. If you are wanting to order one please let me know.

Getting started on the next fundraiser auction. Hope to have items rounded up and ready to go by the first part of October. If you would like to contribute an item or two to the auction send me a message at acupquitefull@cableone.net. I estimate we have a little over two months to raise the remaining $5700, while two months sounds like a long time when waiting for our little girl it really isn't very long when trying to raise such a large amount. We know that this isn't really such a big amount in God's economy and we know He will provide.

One meal down...

2010-09-14T21:56:00.001-06:00

Tonight began the stocking of food for my dear sweet husband and children when momma is in China and unable to thrown dinner together. My goal is to have at least 10 meals in the freezer before I head on a plane to my baby girl. I figure if I get a minimum of one a week put away I will easily make my goal. Daddy works such long days and my sister will be putting in extra duty helping out with the kids. I want to make dinner easy for all with them pulling out a bag or pan that just needs heated.

Tonight was suppose to be my very first home group but Mr. E is under the weather again. I was so looking forward to the beginning of the "Rooted in Good Soil" study that our entire church is doing, oh well there is always next week. I got a call as I was getting in my car from E's teacher that he was feeling a little hot, had a headache and just wanted to nap. Sure enough, when I got there he was running a low grade temp and wasn't feeling well. We have had a quiet night tonight and we will see how he feels tomorrow. Nasty viruses going around right now, I need to look into getting us all our flu shots.

Praying our I800 gets approved this week, hoping that we can submit for our Article 5 before China's October holiday.

Weekend update

2010-09-13T13:19:00.000-06:00

The yard sale ended on Saturday afternoon with us earning $700 to help bring Sophia home. We are so grateful to all that donated goods, time, energy, support, etc to help us with this monsterous sale. Without all of you we would not have been able to do this. We had a great time getting to know new people and spending time with family. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins and playing in the yard sale treasures. I think they are going to be very bored in our garage after all the fun they have had this summer. At the end of the day we packed everything up and moved it to the next house. A friend is having a yard sale next week and this was the seed she needed to get started. May her sale be as big a blessing as ours was!

We snuck away during the yard sale and headed to E's first soccer game. They had a scheduling error and scheduled the 4's and 5's for a 12:30 game. E did great during the first 30 minutes which is their practice and then during the actual game he melted. Each time he was in the game he sat down and cried. I felt so bad for the poor girls and the one little guy that had to play the majority of the game. We had one kiddo out sick and then E melted down so it left us with 3 kids to play the majority of the game. I pray E will have a better week next week when he is playing at 9:30.

We went to church on Sunday and then spent the evening with my husbands family. We had a great time eating some wonderful pulled pork tacos, grilled asparagus and such. The kids had an absolute blast playing with their cousin S. They were begging not to go home but they were both asleep in the car within minutes. We got home and all headed to bed but we were all feeling a little blah. During the night we have all had some sort of a stomach illness or a cold pop up. I started with the stomach and now I feel like I am getting an upper respiratory illness. I hope not, way too much to do.

We have less than a week left for the t-shirt presale. Please take a look at them at Bringing Sophia Home. We appreciate all your support!

Yard Sale day 1

2010-09-10T21:52:00.000-06:00

Let me tell ya, I am exhausted and I am sure my mom and my sisters are too. I tried to get home from work early yesterday but I didn't get out too early, only about an hour. I got the kids picked up from preschool and got home to start sorting the huge pile in the center of the garage. I was completely overwhelmed but then my dad arrived and started to help us get things sorted. By the time my mom and sisters arrived we had everything sorted and we were ready to start getting things displayed. We didn't work too late into the night, we were inside by 10pm.

Morning came way too early and we were outside continuing to set things up at 7am with our first person stopping by at 7:20. It was a slower day than our last Friday yardsale and the sales were down too but we sure did sell a lot of smaller odds and ends. We sold a lot of items for under $1 and still managed to sell about $350 worth. We still have our big ticket items and I pray they will be hot items tomorrow.

This sell was a lot different than our first one. The first one we had a lot of big items and for this one we have just a few big items but a ton of smaller items. My mom brought up a good point, it takes 400 hundred quarter items to make $100 so we had to have moved a lot of our treasures today. I owe so much thanks to my parents and my sisters and their spouses. They have all shown up for both of our yard sales and put a lot of work into them. Our little Sophia is loved so much by them and we so appreciate their love and support. Fundraising is hard work and they are always willing to roll up their sleeves and help us out. It sure makes me feel special to have them rallying beside us.

Please keep us in your prayers that we will get the majority of our treasures sold tomorrow.

We have a little over a week left of our t-shirt fundraiser. Please check it out at Bringing Sophia Home, we appreciate your help in bringing our precious girl home!

Families raising funds

2010-09-08T13:18:00.001-06:00

I follow a great deal of blogs regularly. You could say that I have a blog addiction and need a 12 step program!

I would like to spot light a couple of the families that are fundraising to bring their children home. Please check out their fundraisers.

More Kids 4 Me, Anne has become such an inspiration to me and close friend. It will not likely be possible that we travel at the same time which I am quite sad about but I can't wait to see Ellie in her arms.

One More Ladybug, Connie is another inspiration, they have stepped up to God's calling big time. I believe they are working on bringing home baby number 9 right now. I love big families and I have a special place in my heart for big families formed through adoption.

Purpose Driven Family, Holly and family have been doing many different fundraisers to bring little Elliana home. They just finished up a big auction fundraiser and are still doing their puzzle fundraiser and other things. Check them out.

Because We Are Led, they have several fundraisers going on to bring home Michael. They have some fantastic shirts, totes, coffee and other things going on.

Red Thread Stitches, Robin and family have quite a few things going on to bring Liliana home. She is having a skirt sale and selling Show Hope shirts. This is one amazing momma, I love chatting with her on email and watching her heart for her girls on her blog.

Keep watching as I share more families that have caused me to need an intervention (just kidding!).

Giveaway at Blessed Impatience

2010-09-08T12:53:00.000-06:00

My sweet friend Addie is doing a giveaway at Blessed Impatience. You really need to check it out. Addie is such a sweetie. She really shares her heart on her blog, she puts it all out there. Doing that makes you so vulnerable and she does it anyway. I love reading about her journey to her son waiting in HK and her beautiful children at home. Check her out, you will enjoy following her!

The truth

2010-09-06T23:46:00.000-06:00

This post has been something I have contemplated for many months as I have cried my way through many moments in this adoption journey. I am going to share my whole heart, all of it is going to be out in the open. Should you not agree with me please have kindness in your heart to keep it there.

Adoption is a very emotional journey for so many reasons. For one you are "pregnant", it may be paper pregnant but you are expecting, however you have no tangible evidence, no one can see your baby bump and ask you how you are feeling. In fact you may feel that no one wants to hear about your "pregnancy". Expecting through adoption can be a very lonely place to be. Just like in pregnancy you gravitate to people who have or are experiencing what you have gone through. Unfortunately, in adoption there are a lot less people who have been where you are in your immediate proximity. You have less people to share your journey with, less people who are happy with you, less people who want to hear about it. Do these things keep us from adopting? No!

Adoption is costly. When you give birth to a child and you have insurance your insurance usually pays a portion of the birth. When you adopt internationally, even after any tax credits, you are still paying more than what a no complications birth would have cost in cash. Should we let the cost of an adoption leave children as orphans? In our house we say NO! We feel blessed to have been chosen by God to form our family through adoption.

Families formed through adoption are treated different than families that give birth. Unfortunately, that is just the way it is. When you come home with a toddler or even a new born that joined your family through adoption you are overwhelmed, tired, emotional, stressed, recovering from jet lag, dealing with a child that may not have ever seen a Caucasian person before joining your family nor heard English before, dealing with a child that may be on emotional overload and may be grieving. Do people show up with food and offer to help out? Not usually. Instead when times are tough and you are beyond frazzled you hear things like "you are the ones that chose to do this". Again, adoption can be a lonely place.

You arrive home with your precious child and begin many rounds of doctors appointments, surgeries, therapies and the list goes on. With M we came home and didn't find out about her medical condition until she was 2 years old, she was adopted at 9 months. She had a bit of time to learn to trust us and get adjusted to her new life in a family. With E we knew of his medical condition at the time of his referral and he had his first surgery 2 1/2 months after joining our family. He came home at 2 1/2 years old and has many long lasting issues that come from living in an institution for so long. Sophia's medical condition has many unknowns, we know that she will need an MRI shortly after coming home so we know what is going on. With all of these processes and procedures you are tired, your child is trying to trust you and you can be just plain worn out. Do you give up and say it is too hard? Nope!

I write of these things not because I am not happy adopting, it is quite the opposite. I don't think I could have been given a greater gift by God than the gift to love a child born not from by body but in my heart. I know that there are many people out there that can not do it for whatever reason. Growing our family through adoption requires many sacrifices by our family. We have not taken a "vacation" almost EVER. We took a trip to Lake Tahoe for our first anniversary and that was nearly 17 years ago. Vacations for this family is a weekend camping trip or a trip to Nana and Papa's. Our kids have not seen Yellowstone, Disneyland, Disney World, Six Flags or any other fun kids place. We have not taken a cruise, been to Hawaii, Mexico or any other exotic place besides a trip to China together when we adopted M. Now daddy stays home while I travel to pick our kids up.

When we adopted M daddy had a pickup that was very dear to his heart and Ol' Blue was sold to help us with the remaining travel money needed to pick up M. Daddy sacrificed his treasure to bring home a much greater treasure. Since then we have not had anything really of value to sell. For E's adoption we did have a bonus that helped us get started but after getting our dossier to China everything went a lot quicker than planned so we had to take out a loan for E's adoption that we are still paying on today. Not only did thing go quicker but the economy started to fall. Barely a year after getting home with E we started the journey to Ginger which later turned into the journey to Sophia. Again we had a bonus to get us started but nothing after. In fact it has been a really really hard year financially. The down economy has really affected things where we live. Instead of giving up because it was "too hard" "cost too much" etc. we continued on. Would it have been easier to quit before seeing our little Sophia's face, you betcha! Ginger had been matched with a family and we were left to wait and SEE what God had planned for us when he gave us the love of Ginger. We continued on because we know that He gave us the love of Ginger so that we would be ready for Sophia.

So here we are, about three months from me leaving for China to pick up our baby girl. We still need to raise about $6500 to bring our baby home and our possessions are being evaluated. I have never been a person that wished that I had a collection of high dollar items until now. I wish I had a collection of fancy name purses to sell that many would love to get their hands on. In all reality I don't have fancy anything. I am a fairly simple person, pretty much always out of style, and I'm ok with that other than I wish I had more to sell. I will be scouring my house for all things that may be of interest to another that will get us another step closer to Sophia. What few "treasures" I have are up for sale in order to bring our precious girl home. When telling someone what we had left to raise rather than words of encouragement I heard "Good luck with that". I can tell you that I have shed many tears because of comments like that. There is nothing more humbling in the world than having to fundraise to bring a child home. To have the desire to take a child out of an orphanage and not be able to write a check to make it happen. I truly feel that the Lord has called us to adopt at this very time in order for us to bring others along in our journey. By opening this journey up to others we also open ourselves up to a lot of heartache. There is nothing that hurts more than knowing that your family and friends do not support your adoption or your fundraising. I have cried myself to sleep on more than one occasion and know that I will have many more tears to come until Sophia is placed in my arms and I will then have tears of joy.

I tell you all of this so you may understand the emotions that we as adoptive parents go through. You add in the dynamic of a fundraising family and the emotions can be multiplied. I have met so many wonderful people through the adoption community that have helped me through the tough times. To them I say thank you! Thank you for the words of encouragement, for telling me that you have been there and I am not crazy, for sharing your heart with me and for being such wonderful friends. For our family that has been rallying behind us in this journey we love you with all our hearts, we couldn't do this without you. We appreciate all your contributions to our journey, we thank you for spending your days working your heart out at yard sales, for listening to me cry, for putting your life on hold to help care for our child either in the US or in China. We love you and really couldn't do it without you.

If you are an adopting family that needs a shoulder or a friend please let us know. We have been there and want to be there for you.

When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! Psalm 142:3

Bringing Sophia Home tees

2010-09-06T19:16:00.000-06:00

Check out the tees, we hope you love them as much as we do.

Thanks for helping us Bring Sophia Home!

Fasting for Orphans

2010-09-06T19:12:00.000-06:00

Linny at A Place Called Simplicity has asked for us to join together and fast for her dear friends James and Cherami who have been in a very long journey to bring their precious treasures home from Africa. She has opened up this fast to so many families who are in the process of making children around the world orphans no more. These families are in the midst of varying struggles to bring their precious children home; for some bureacrocy is in the way, for others financial hardship or challenges are causing issue, check out the links on Linny's post to see where each family is at. They could all use your prayer and your fast. When we bond together our Lord can move so many mountains.

We hope to have our precious Sophia home by Christmas. On average it seems to take about three months from LOA to travel so that would put me leaving for China at the end of November give or take a week or two. We have had some financial struggles this summer, we needed to fundraise before the summer but due to our summer struggles we REALLY need to fundraise. We have had to make some hard choices for our family that means that my husband and kids will be staying home while I travel to China for baby sissy. I ask that you lift us in prayer that my kids do ok being seperated from me. My sister is moving to the same town we live in at the end of the month and will be taking care of the kids while daddy is at work. During our last seperation M didn't do so well and E hasn't been away from me for more than a night. I anticipate that this is going to be a hard two weeks.

We are launching what I pray will be a successful fundraiser of beautiful t-shirts that really display Gods word of caring for the orphans and the oppressed. I would also like to ask for you to pray for the success of this fundraiser and our final huge yardsale that will take place on Sept. 10th and 11th. We have a couple long days ahead as we prepare for the sale, may we have the strength to share Gods heart for orphans to all that shop at our sale.

We have a busy week ahead and I know that fasting on Wednesday is really what I need at this point in the journey. There are many days when it seems too hard and too big. I ask myself why did HE choose us for this. The thing is, I stop and think about it and while we may be done building our family once Sophia is home we are not done, He has called us to care for the fatherless and afflicted. This is just the beginning of a life long journey that we have no idea where He will take us. The first step is following our God, when he says go or do regardless of how hard or how big.

Please join us in fasting on Wednesday. Be Blessed!

And the winner is.....

2010-09-06T00:01:00.000-06:00

Sharon!!!!!

Send me a message Sharon and let me know what style/size and color you would like. We appreciate you spreading the word about our adoption fundraiser. You are a beautiful friend to the orphans!

T-Shirts to Bring Sophia Home - Giveaway!

2010-09-02T19:00:00.001-06:00

Our next fundraiser will launch on Monday September 6th. We are very excited to share with you our t-shirt fundraiser. The shirts were designed by Stacy and her husband at My Cup Overfloweth who will be on their way in a matter of a day to get their son Solomon. They have been so generous to many families in the same journey that they are in and we feel so blessed that they are allowing us to use their t-shirt design. I absolutely love the design and I hope that you will love it too.

As a preview to our t-shirt presale starting on Monday we are doing a giveaway. We appreciate your help in promoting our fundraiser and to show our appreciation we are giving you chances to win a t-shirt. Here is what you need to do to earn a chance:

1 entry for posting our "Bringing Sophia Home" button on your blog
1 entry for writing about our t-shirt sale/giveaway on your blog
1 entry for posting it on facebook (if we aren't friends we will need to become friends for this one, you can find me at Mandie Allen Metier)

That gives you three chances to win. For every 50 entries I will add in another t-shirt. Leave me a comment letting me know what you have done.

The shirts are available in a unisex mens shirt in navy, chocolate and cactus green, womens shirt (not a fitted shirt) in brown and city green, and in childrens sizes in navy and pink.

Check back Monday evening for the launch of the t-shirt presale. The presale is from Monday September 6th through Sunday September 19th. I will submit the order to the printer on Monday September 20th and should have the t-shirts to ship within two weeks.

New Veggie Tales

2010-08-29T08:19:00.000-06:00

I know I have shared before about my love of Veggie Tales. I can't wait for the next one to be released, "It's a Meaningful Life". My kids like them too but I don't know if they "love" them quite like I do. I hope you enjoy the song playing right now, it's from the new movie. In light of our journey to our children this song holds such special meaning to me. We are all so meant to be, He has no accidents or plan B's, it's all as he devinely appointed.

Be Blessed!

LOA!!!!!!!

2010-08-26T15:31:00.000-06:00

It arrived at our agency today. We should have it in hand by tomorrow afternoon. And as quickly as possible it will leave our hands and off to USCIS. One more step done!

Please help this family bring their son home

2010-08-24T22:04:00.000-06:00

My dear sweet friend Stacy is weeks from bringing her son home, that is once they raise the last $5000 they need to pay the in country expenses of the adoption. Please check out the raffle to bring Solomon home. They could use all of our help and prayers right now. They have been fundraising like crazy and are nearly there. Not only have they been fundraising for their family but have also been reaching out to others families that need ideas, support and encouragement in fundraising. They are a blessing to so many, let's bless them back!

Just what I needed today!

2010-08-23T09:12:00.000-06:00

Check out this post on We Are Grafted In. It is so well written and brought a new perspective to me today.

Be Blessed!

2010-08-17T21:13:00.004-06:00

People need to understand, children with special needs don't have an illness, so there is no cure and it's not contagious. They only want what we all want, to be accepted.

There are currently more than 2100 children waiting on the China Waiting Child list who need a loving family. There are more than 143 million orphans around the world. Do you have room for one? Can you help a family bring an orphan into their home?

Not all are called to adopt, some are called to support adoptions or sponsor an orphan but we are all called to do something.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

What are you doing about James 1:27?????

No LOA

2010-08-16T18:57:00.000-06:00

There was a very large batch of LOAs that arrived in the US today but ours wasn't in it. I am trying to stay hopefull for later in the week as next monday marks 60 days for us. Praying for good news later in the week.

M had a bit of a rough day today. By 8:15 this morning she had had two bloody noses and had petechiae on her cheek. Usually the petechiae is on the roof of her mouth so I didn't think we had low platelet issue when I dropped her off at preschool after her first bloody nose but asked her teacher to let me know if her nose started bleeding again. Sure enough, I hadn't even made it to work and had a call from her teacher. I checked in a little after 9 to see how she was doing and was told her bleeding had stopped a few minutes before but she wasn't acting her normal self. Our standing order had expired at the lab so I waited for her hematologists office to call back and then headed out to pick her up for a blood draw. She is such a trooper when it comes to blood draws. As we were driving to the hospital she told me if one doctor (phlebotomist) came in the room she wouldn't cry but if two came in she was going to cry. The last draw she had a month ago she did great with one so I hoped and prayed they wouldn't send in two. Thankfully, we only had one and she did perfect. The good news, her platelets came back in the totally normal range, she just has a virus and is already feeling on the mend after an afternoon of resting.

As a mom to kiddos with medical conditions I am always amazed at how well kids do with medical procedures and how it becomes a part of life to them. It is also sad that blood draws, trips to the hematologist, urologist, vascular specialist, bone marrow tests, etc. will be a part of normal life for my kids but they all seem to do so well with it. We don't know yet how S will do with it all but my guess is she will take it in stride and not let it get her down. Shortly after we get home S will have to have an MRI for us to know more about her hemangioma. This will be the first MRI that our kids will have had so I don't know what to expect, I'm sure she will have to be sedated or at least I hope so in order for her to stay still. My husband had an MRI and I know how loud they are and that would totally scare her.

Now if our LOA could just get here so we can get another step closer to baby S.

2010-08-15T16:47:00.000-06:00

The weekends seem to be the hardest when you are waiting for something to happen in International Adoption. During the week you have some hope that you might here something about the next step but the weekend you know all bets are off. Officially we are at day 54 tomorrow waiting for our LOA. No new pictures of Sophia and no idea of next week will be our LOA week. Our coordinator has been on vacation and will return tomorrow so maybe we will hear a small morsel of an update on our dossier status through the process in China.

What did we do to keep ourselves busy. Well I had the van oil changed bright and early on Saturday. Hurried home and picked up the kids to go to my sisters house to do some painting, she is renting a house that wasn't loved by the last occupants. While the big people painted the little people played some, argued a lot, and watched a couple movies. Watching E and P fight makes me think that in the end E will like being the only son in this family. The ended with a trip to Costco, that is always an exhausting adventure!

M lost had lost her voice on Saturday morning when she woke up, could it be from the yelling and tantrums she has been doing a lot of lately! Daddy is leaving for work very early each morning and it has really been hard on her. She is a child that likes predictable routine and is use to having Daddy help us get ready in the morning and help her into the van. We will get use to it but right now it is not bringing out the best in her early morning disposition.

Sunday has been a lot quieter. M wasn't feeling good, her voice is still gone, so she spent the morning with JoJo while we went to church. We came home from church, ate some flat bread pizza and then naps for all. The evening is going to have to be a little more motivated with laundry and a little houseworker before our busy week starts.

In a couple weeks E starts soccer and they will both be starting their first year of Awana. Personally, I am so excited for the Awana's, I grew up with Awana from my very early preschool days when my mom was a leader long before I was old enough to be in the club. I hope it brings the lasting memories for them that it did for me.

Help bring home Ellie

2010-08-13T18:50:00.000-06:00

I have met a wonderful person and friend, Anne, through our journey to Sophia. We were both up on June 21/22 you could say late into the night or early into the morning hanging out together via email. I have no idea how many emails went back and forth between us as we waited for a call from our China Coordinator. We notified each other immediately upon our matches and have been hanging out together through the process since. This is one lady I truly hope to get to travel to China with. Unless something happens almost immediately with our LOA that may not happen but I am praying we can spend a week together in Guangzhou getting to know one another and enjoying our beautiful baby girls.

Anne and family are fundraising families just as we are. They have some great fundraisers going on right now. Please check them out here. I know our girls will be wearing some of the cute clippies that her friend at Yogi & Cecils' Clippy Creations are making for her fundraiser. This picture is a small representation of the beautiful items they have. Please help Anne and her family bring Ellie home.

The Journey

2010-08-11T19:49:00.000-06:00

I am an avid follower of A Place Called Simplicity and love what Linny does to advocate for the orphans. They are living the ministry of orphans no more and are encouraging to all that they too can change the lives of orphans.

We were matched with Sophia on June 21st almost immediately after we were DTC. Our baby "S" has a large hemangioma on her leg, bottom, and possible internal. Like most international adoption medical reports hers are very vague and we won't know a lot about it other than she is our daughter. We go into this with a lot of unknowns but we have been blessed with a wonderful Christian doctor that will help us find the answers. We do know that once we get home she will need an MRI so that we can determine if it affects her spinal cord or any internal organs. Best case scenario it will go away or reduce as time goes by, worst case we have no idea but I do know that He will equip us to handle it. Regardless of the unknowns we felt the moment our phone rang and it was our China Coordinator that she knew who our child was and we were about to find out.

This journey began with a lot of unknowns and I know it will end with the Lord blessing us with our baby "S", the child he has ordained to be part of our family. One thing that has been really hard in this adoption is the unknowns. The journey started with a special little girl in our hearts and will end with us loving a different child to the end of the earth. It also began with us wondering where the funds will come from to pay for this adoption. We were blessed with the funds to get our documents to China when our dossier was ready and I know deep in my heart that the Lord will provide for the rest of it. We have had our bumps and our trials in this journey emotionally and financially but I pray that they are molding us into the parents and the advocates of orphans that Jesus plans for us to be. We are still short about $7100 of our in China expenses as well as the airfare to China and back for Sophia and myself.

Please pray for us that the we will hold strong with the fundraising and not allow the enemy to defeat his plan for our family. May he give me the inspiration to sew the things that catch others eye and help me find things in our home that we can sell that may help provide those much needed funds. Please check out our auction blog Bringing Sophia Home, I would appreciate any advise or ideas you have to share. Fundraising has been a very humbling experience, much harder than I ever anticipated and I expect an experience Jesus wanted me to have. While the journey may be long and hard, our children will always be worth it and so much more.

Orphan Sponsorship

2010-08-11T13:25:00.000-06:00

There are two organizations that are very dear to my heart. E's life was changed and made so much better by both organizations and we will be forever grateful to them.

E went to live at Philip Hayden Foundations Shepherd's Field Childrens Village when he was 15 months old. The earliest picture I have of him is the day he arrived at SFCV. He came to them such a tiny little guy and they showed him the love of Jesus until he was matched with a family and had to return to Jiaozuo two weeks before we arrived. He then went and stayed with a wonderful organization Eagles Wings China where he stayed until I arrived in Henan.

Both of these organizations do wonderful work in China for children that would otherwise be forgotten in an orphanage. They work so hard at earning the support for these children as they pay 100% for their day to day support as well as raising the funds for the medical intervention these children desperately need. It's amazing how much they do for the children on very limited budgets, glass eyes for children who are missing an eye, open heart surgery for children who wouldn't be able to make it without surgery, cleft lip/cleft palate surgery, and encouraging the orphanage directors to prepare the childrens file for adoption that there is a family out there waiting for the child. Won't you consider improving the lifes of orphans in China through one of these organizations. There are many ways to help, sponsor a child, sponsor an ayi (nanny), one time gift giving, corporate sponsorship. Both organizations are working on big projects and could use your help. Eagles Wings is planning a school not just for orphans but for special needs children in general living in Jiaozuo, a family will be able to send their child to school when they would not be welcome in the standard public school. Philip Hayden is working on a vocational training school to teach job skills to those that may not be elligible for adoption. They could both use the help of all of us!

Adoption is not something that every family can do, I hope that I have shared with you something you can do to make a difference in the life of an orphan. You may not have a heart for China they way that I do so I would like to encourage you to look into a ministry that does speak to your heart. We support both Philip Hayden and Eagles Wings and feel very blessed that we are able to continue to help those that have not joined their forever families.

2010-08-09T21:34:00.005-06:00

God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible. What a pity we plan only the things we can do by ourselves.
A. W. Tozer

Still Waiting....

2010-08-09T21:06:00.000-06:00

In the world of adoption it is a never ending cycle of hurry up and wait. I am an avid follower of China Adopt Talk better known as Rumor Queen. RQ got me through the wait for M when the wait started to get longer and no one knew why. Kept me informed when we were journeying to E. And now it is my lifeline or better yet my scary movie as we wait for Sophia. By scary movie I mean the one where you don't want to watch but you can't help it. I checked in many times today as the LOAs rolled in wondering if we would be in this batch.

After many hours of waiting and watching I followed the advice of a dear friend and called our agency. Until I made that call I was able to live in the hope that maybe today would be our day. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Maybe next week.

On another note I have to say we have some of the most awesome big kids that live in our neighborhood. They are of the age that they could easily tell the littles that live in our house and next door to go away but they are so good with them. E told me last night that he loves one of them. Of course she told me how cute he is, as in cute as a puppy kinda way. I just love how good they are to all the littles in the area. I really need to write the parents of the two sets of siblings a thank you for raising such awesome kids!

The winners are.....

2010-08-07T23:48:00.000-06:00

Thank you to everyone for participating in our followers giveaway. The winners are.....
Ashley - A Cup Quite Full Creations bag
Amy Murphy - your choice of Just Love Coffee
Ashley - Mary Kay Satin Hands set (email me your selection)
morekids4me - Wild Olive tshirt of your choice (email me your selection)
ourchinagirls - Scared by Tom Davis
Please email me with your address and full name so I can get your prize on the way to you. We appreciate all your support to help us bring Sophia home.

I need to just be patient

2010-07-27T13:36:00.000-06:00

Do you know how many times a day I tell M and E that they need to be patient. How can I expect 4 year olds to be patient when I myself seem to have none. This wait for LOA is driving me insane! I know it has only been 34 days since we submitted our LOI but it has been 57 days since our dossier was logged in at CCAA. I pray dear Lord that our LOA doesn't take as long as E's took, I don't have 117 days in me.

On a side note, you know your children watch too much TV when your son is sitting at the counter saying "Don't get mad, get Glad!" And he said in the most stinking cute voice.

Wonderful weekend

2010-07-26T22:25:00.000-06:00

We spent this weekend with my mom at her house. The kids love it when we go to the farm. Life is wonderful at the farm. We did some planting of pumpkin, we are late getting it done but hopefully they will grow by the fall, things flourish at the farm. The kids played crochet with Nanna and I sat in the grass watching them have such a great time.

We had a great BBQ dinner and then went out to the fire pit to roast some marshmallows and make some s'mores. I have to say my mom is an awesome nanna in my book. When the kids spend time with her she makes all things fun, even working in the yard. The kids beam from ear to ear as the hang out with her.

After all the outside fun we brought the kids in for quick baths and then it was pedicure time. Daddy even got in on the pedi's. His feet had to have been on fire after working out in the sun all day on the shop. Daddy has been finishing up Papa's shop to raise funds to bring Sophia home. This is the second weekend he put in a 10 hour day in scorching heat. Daddy loves his kiddos so much, even those he hasn't met yet.

Hope your weekend was full of fun and blessings!

Followers Giveaway - New prizes added

2010-07-23T11:55:00.003-06:00

To complete Sophia's adoption we need your help. We are trusting God to provide the provisions and are humbly asking for your help. For our prior to adoptions we did not fundraise, for M's adoption we were able to pay for it completely as it was spread out over two years. For E's adoption we did not have the funds to complete it and took out loans which we are still paying on . For S's adoption we were blessed with a bonus to get our paperwork to China however for the final part we do not have a bonus coming in so we are going outside of our comfort zone and asking for help from all of you. Asking others to help us is not something we are comfortable with, we are most comfortable helping others. I believe that the Lord is telling us to open ourselves up to the help from others and this may also open us up to criticism from others. While that may hurt we are following the Lords instructions in James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." This will look different for each individual, maybe you would like to be able to help bring a child home however not everyone is able to adopt by donating to bring Sophia home you are doing just that.

It's time to get some excitement going with our fundraising. We currently need to raise $7400 in order to bring Sophia home. We are doing a followers giveaway with many ways to earn an entry. Here are the ways you can earn an entry:

* Become a follower- I have three blogs so that gives you an opportunity of three entries just for being a follower. If you are already a follower you have an entry already!

* Post our Bringing Sophia Home button on your blog or on facebook. You will need to copy it onto your computer and then post the url with the photo. We will need to be friends on Facebook for this so look me up Mandie Allen Metier.

* Write a post about our fundraiser on your blog or facebook. We will need to be friends on Facebook for this so look me up Mandie Allen Metier.

* Donations - for every $5 donation you will receive one entry. Please contact me at acupquitefull@cableone.net for more information on making a donation.

Leave me a comment telling me what you have done.

Entries accept through 12:00 midnight EST Saturday August 7th. Now on to the important part....the prizes.
To start off we have three prized in the prize pool and with every 50 25 followers another prize will be added.

A bag from A Cup Quite Full Creations

This bag is made from beautiful Batik material. It has a magnetic closure and two pockets large enough to hold an iPhone or a Blackberry.

A bag of coffee from Just Love Coffee, your choice. You send me your selection when prizes are drawn and I will have it shipped to you directly. This is my favorite coffee, it has now taken the place of a certain coffee that you can get on Shamian Island in our house. This is wonderful coffee that not only helps families adopting but also helps Orphans in Ethiopia.

The all new Mary Kay Satin Hands donated Mona Allen. It is peach scented and heaven for dry summer hands.

A Wild Olive tee of your choice. Winner will be notified to make selection and it will be ordered and shipped directly to you.

"Scared, a novel on the Edge of the World", by Tom Davis. Thank you Sharon, for your contribution to our giveaway. Tom Davis does a remarkable job writing about and advocating for the needs of the fatherless. This is on my reading list and may be the book that I read on the long plane ride to pick up Sophia.

Check back for other items as they are added. There are already 31 41 followers so another prize is just around the corner! If you would like to donate a prize to the drawing please email me at acupquitefull@cableone.net. Be Blessed!

Cutest little models!

2010-07-20T11:53:00.000-06:00

They love to model my sewing projects for me. I think the cutest models in the world live at my house!

For my fundraising friends

2010-07-19T13:00:00.000-06:00

I ran across Embracing the Least of these from another fundraising friend and hopefully travel companion with our agency Bringing home Ellie blog. Let me tell you, it spoke to me in such a big way. If you haven't been a Fundraising Family (FF) then you might not know how lonely fundraising is. This is not my first bought of fundraising and I can tell you that I am not good at it. When I fundraised for Team In Training I nearly quit. Had it not been for my mentor helping me through to the end I know I would have given up. Running a marathon was by far easier than raising funds for a wonderful organization.

The difference between now and then is God, Team in Training was about me, adoption is about God and his commandment that we take care of the orphans and widows in their distress. What can be more distressful than living out your life in an orhanage without a family to call your own, without the possibility for an education and a bright future. From all I have learned from Women and Children in Crisis, the future for these children is very grim, probable horrid. I know that God has called our family to adopt for a third time in four years. Adoption unfortunately can be expensive, even when you take out all the frills, and this is a no frills adoption. This adoption and our second my husband and now my kids have/are staying home. There is no fancy air accomodations for this mama, I will be going coach all the way on the cheapest air line I'm able to find. I will not be staying at the well known hotel in Guangzhou but in a much less expensive hotel, no Going Home Barbie for Sophia, she will have to talk E out of his. But really in the grand scheme of things does a barbie matter, she will have a family to call her own forever and she will have the opportunity to know the love of Jesus, for Jesus does love the little children, all the children of the world!

T-Shirt giveaway

2010-07-17T10:57:00.000-06:00

The Marquez family has designed a beautiful t-shirt, actually a couple of them. Check out their t-shirt giveaway at Holding God's Hand in the Journey. They are in the journey to adopt their son/children from Ethiopia and are an amazing couple. Please follow their journey and if you aren't one of the luck recipients of a t-shirt you can purchase one from them soon.

My Cup Overfloweth

2010-07-15T00:32:00.000-06:00

Solomon's family is working very hard right to raise the final funds needed to bring him home. This family has put their trust in God to provide the provision for him to join his forever family. They are weeks away from leaving for China but can't get to him without your help. Please visit them at My Cup Overfloweth and consider making a donation towards their final adoption expense. They are holding a fantastic giveaway where everyone wins a prize.

A Joyful Heart

2010-07-14T21:22:00.001-06:00

Please check out my friends Sharon's auction blog A Joyful Heart. She is raising funds to bring home Shaylee Joy and she is quickly running out of time as they are leaving very soon to bring her home. Sharon is such a wonderful, giving woman of God. Not only is she raising funds to bring her daughter home but she donates items to many other families doing the same thing. You will find her beautiful rainbow roll in many fundraisers throughout the adoption and orphan support community. Thank you Sharon for blessing others!

"Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you." Deuteronomy 16:17

Auction, two items end tomorrow!

2010-07-13T13:38:00.000-06:00

The auction will be ending in a little over 24 hours for two super cute items at Bringing Sophia Home. Go check them out and make a bid! The rainbow roll will make a wonderful Christmas present (my kids are getting them for Christmas, ssshh don't tell them, good thing they can't read yet) or great for traveling if you are taking your little ones on a summer trip or even a trip to bring a sibling home. We appreciate your support and help in bringing Sophia home.

Upcoming fundraiser!!!!!

2010-07-10T18:49:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I nearly started crying when I read my email. We have been chosen as one of Hip Mom jewelry's first fundraising families. We should be hearing more about her fundraising program in a few weeks so keep checking back. She has fantastic jewelry that makes wonderful gifts for others or yourself. I myself can't wait to spend my birthday money on a little treasure for myself!

Lots of fundraising ideas are floating around in my head these days. I need to update the ticker but I believe we are at $2500 earned so far. Another HUGE yardsale is in the works for late August or September, if you are from our neck of the woods and would like to donate items to our yardsale let me know, we are happy to pick up your donation. My sweet sister S is planning a fundraising dinner for us. We grew up in a very small town so there is a lot to take into consideration before we jump in full steam ahead. She has such a beautiful generous heart, once she gets her mind on it there is no stopping her. Although the auction blog has not been very active yet I still have great hopes for it. In the next week I have a followers giveaway planned. It will launch on Saturday July 17th.

My husband has been working like crazy on a shop to raise additional funds too. If the kids could find something to do to raise money I know they would be doing it too. It's hard for four year olds to participate but they love to help with the yardsales. Last weekend I spent 12 hours on Saturday and 6 hours on Sunday on a yardsale at the park in my home town. Although it was a quieter weekend that I had hoped for we still raised $225 and I met a lot of wonderful people. I really enjoyed the time we spent in the park, the kids had a blast playing tea and dressup with the yardsale items and I had an opportunity to visit with some great people. Although it was hot and the wind blew constantly it is a memory to charish. The journey to Sophia is bringing me in touch to some wonderful people.

We appreciate everyone's prayers and support. Without you we can't bring our baby girl home.

Thankful Thursday

2010-07-08T22:48:00.000-06:00

When I stop to think about my life, I mean really think about it, I have so very much to be thankful for. Jesus has blessed me in so many ways, the biggest way is my family. I got a little misty eyed thinking about it the other night after enjoying the Fourth of July festivities.

As I was putting E into the car after the fireworks he told me in his very sleepy voice that he had a great day. The thing was, it was a very simple day. Breakfast in the park, lunch at Nana's with extended family, playing hard all day with cousins, riding the four wheeler with Nana and daddy to check on the cows, a childrens carnival in the park and snuggling up with my uncle to watch the fireworks. As I watched him all settled in with my uncle enjoying the evening firework show it dawned on me that a little more than two years ago he was in China without a family to call his own. Now he is here with so many people that feel so blessed to be part of his life. While there are people who do not understand the reason why we have chosen to form our family the way we have all I have to do is remember this day and how much love my children receive from so many for me to know why we do what we do.

Tuesday was my birthday and I was blessed with a wonderful dinner cooked by my husband and kids. It was so nice to walk in the door to the wonderful smell of lasgna and bread. To sit down and enjoy a wonderful dinner without going out and dealing with waits in restaurants and try to keep our kids occupied while we wait for food. I have to say that this is the first year I didn't want to go out to dinner and was so happy and excited when I walked in the door and knew my husband read my heart. While at work someone asked if we were going out to dinner and my reply was I sure hope not. In our journey to simplify we have not been eating out much. I even made E's birthday cupcakes for preschool and his cake for his party. I have to tell you they enjoyed decorating those cupcakes so much more than they would have enjoyed the little rings that come on top of the store bought cupcakes. I am finding that living a simpler life is such a blessing, full of so many memories we can make together.

Another thing I am so thankful for is my wonderful sisters. There is nothing like being able to poor your heart out to your sisters even if you are being a whiny boo hooer. I love how they listen to me and give me support and an encouraging word. They help me work through things and they support the things that I am passionate about. I'm also so thankful for our parents. They truly helped mold us into the people we are today.

While life is stressful with so much going on and funds that need raised, I am so glad that I was able to take a moment to think about my life and how full it really is. Full of all the things He has promised with so much more to come.

Sophia Meilin

2010-06-29T19:52:00.003-06:00

Introducing our daughter Sophia Meilin. She is 15 months old and is from the Guangdong Province. We have been blessed with another beautiful treasure from God.

We received her referral call at 9:45 pm on June 21st. We knew immediately that she was our daughter. We submitted our Letter of Intent to our agency that very night and it was submitted to CCAA by our agency on June 23rd. We are very excited to receive our Preapproval on June 24th and anxiously await travel to bring her home.

We are diligently working on fundraising to raise the needed funds to complete her adoption. Please visit our fundraising auction blog Bringing Sophia Home. Please consider putting our buttons on your blog. We could use all the help in advertising our fundraiser as possible. Blessings!

Trusting

2010-06-18T17:55:00.002-06:00

Such a significant word is trust and I put my trust in the Lord.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

During trials in life it is so easy to ask "why did He allow it". My belief is that God doesn't necessarily allow the struggles of life we have, however, He takes those struggles and brings good out of it. When we live a life that is status quo we stay in our comfort zone but He doesn't plan for us to stay in our comfort zone. He has so many things planned for us and when we face the struggles and trials of life with trust in Him, our Lord can do so much with us. He can mold us into the people he created us to be from day one.

I have been asked many times if I have grieved not having children biologically. I will honestly say that I have not because I don't feel that it was something to grieve, I have no loss but wonderful gifts. He knew the day he created me that I would love all children. I can clearly remember the day in my life that I learned about adoption, I can remember the conversation I had with my mom when we were working in the garden telling her about how cool it was that the neighbor's aunt (she was the same age as the neighbor kids) was adopted and how I was going to adopt when I grew up. Many years later we realized we were not meant to have biological children but that He had planned for us to adopt. My heart is so full knowing that our Lord planned that as my gift. He put it in my heart and let it grow and many years later it bloomed and now I have the two most wonderful children and will soon be adding a third blessing.

When I came home from China with E I didn't know if our family was complete. Two children were really more than two children. We had a lot of adjusting to do and a new routine to establish. We started sponsoring Ginger at Philip Hayden when we were matched with E. We watched her grow in pictures, heal after her surgeries and then one day I had this feeling that she was meant to be a part of our family. That feeling became all consuming and I shared it with my husband. We then began the journey to our third child, believing her to be that child that was meant to be a part of us. Then it came to be that she was not the child He planned for us. At first the pain was there, for her I grieved, I had already envisioned our life with her. As time has gone by and a month has passed I know deep in my heart that He gave me love for her so that we would be ready for the little one that He planned for us. Had we not loved Ginger we would not have started this third adoption and with all the changes in IA we really needed to get started so we could be ready. And here we are now, waiting for Him to reveal our daughter to us. We are ready and waiting for his timing, it will be perfect, she will be perfect!

I have become such a believer that He only plans good for us. Trying times will come and go but it is His plan that will persevere. As we are human we wish that would could know more about the journey ahead so we could prepare for it but if we are prepared how can He teach and how can we grow. Is it really better to know what lies ahead? Would we avoid the journey if we new what it held? My guess is that we wouldn't so I am choosing to lean into Jesus, trust Him to guide the way and that he will grow us to be better people and better followers through the journey.

On a side note I promise that I will soon post some updated pictures of M and E. We have been a busy family this past month and have some great pictures to share. Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare our hearts to be open to His plan with the release of the next shared list. We may know who our little one is in the near future.

The Journey to Simplify

2010-06-12T20:00:00.001-06:00

As you probable have noticed by now I really enjoy A Place Called Simplicity a lot. Linny and family live their lives for Jesus and I love the ministry of her blog. I don't know if she calls blogging a ministry but to me it is. She has taught me so much about listening to God and acting on what he is speaking to us about. She has been instrumental in a lot of changes going on in me and my family. It really all started with her Crazy Love post and it just keeps going, she is writing about the things that are in my heart.

I have been feeling the need to simplify our lives. We are a family of four with enough possessions for a family of at least six if not eight. We live in a modest size home that is stuffed to the gills with THINGS. They are not cherished things, most of them are not things we can't live without and we somehow keep getting more things. We just had a wonderful huge yard sale of things that were donated from others and a few things from our home, mostly things from the attic but not the things that are making our lives hectic and are consuming our thoughts and energy.

I have been feeling so overwhelmed by the messes that are all over our house. Our children do not treasure the possessions that they have, they have so many they can't keep track of what is precious to them. Unfortunately, I am certain that the rest of my family is not yet in the place that I am. M did go through her room and parted with a grocery bag of odds and ends from her room but that is just a small tip of the ice berg. My family really likes THINGS. I remember when we moved into our house we moved from a much smaller house and so much of our house felt empty, eight years have passed two children have joined the family and the house if full. I have found myself dreaming about our old smaller home, wishing we were in a smaller home. The American Dream is usually to have a bigger house and I am dreaming of a smaller house.

With all major life changes small changes start the process. I am hoping that by clearing out the THINGS that I have excess of or have not used in a long time I will lead the transformation of our family. That we can simplify our lives, be happier with each other not with the things that own us. I had been changing some of our spending habits by making our own laundry detergent, using foaming soap that I make myself instead of buying a new bottle, each time we run out but those are very small changes, it is time for our family to make some really big changes.

My prayer is that by the time we are ready to our fall fundraising yard sale that we will have a great amount of things for sale from our own home. That our excess will help us bring our daughter home. I encourage you to follow along with Linny as she shares her experiences in Simple Living, I know that I will be.

The first of the initials start to arrive!

2010-06-01T18:45:00.001-06:00

LID!!!!!

Our LID is May 31st! I have to say this is the fastest we have ever heard we are logged in. Our coordinator at BAAS, Xiaoqing, is totally on her game. I can't recommend her enough. Praying June is the month we find out who our little girl is, we can't wait to see her. Already starting to think of names but won't be able to decide until we see her. We will keep you all posted.

A little late....we are DTC!

2010-05-30T22:25:00.000-06:00

With the yard sale preparation I am really behind in all things. Most importantly in posting the milestones we have passed. On May 21st our dossier went to China - DTC. Hopefully, in the next week or so we will hear that we have a log in date - LID. We are now able to be matched when the next shared list is released in June. Although we are hopeful for a match in June we know that only the Lord knows when our daughter will be released to the shared list. We felt him telling us to hurry and we know that He has a child planned for us that we needed to be ready for.

Now that the yard sale is complete I will be concentrating on sewing until the next yard sale in July. Watch A Cup Quite Full Creations for new items coming soon.